


Ex Nihilo

by Ninebubble



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Angst, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Genderswap, Love Triangles, M/M, Pining, Urbexo, fem!Junmyeon, urban exploring, urbex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-15 18:06:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14795361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninebubble/pseuds/Ninebubble
Summary: [UrbEx AU]Minseok is a historian struggling to write a book about the catastrophe at Chernobyl. He finds unlikely help in the form of a childhood friend of his colleague Kyungsoo, an urban explorer with a big mouth and a bit of an attitude.





	1. Chapter 1

 

**

 

 

Writing a book was not as fun as most people might think, Minseok realized fairly soon into the endeavour. He'd written many articles before, on various subjects for various magazines and university publications. He'd written novellas and short stories and even a few poems. In seventh grade he had written a hundred-page long fan fiction about Crash Bandicoot. But writing an actual, full-length book was proving much more difficult.

The research bit went okay, even though Chernobyl wasn't really his main area of focus. It had started rather randomly. He'd been on the couch one evening watching TV, and a documentary about the catastrophe had come on. The film had been horrendous, full of thinly veiled bias and obviously poor science, and Minseok had been so frustrated that he'd started researching on his own, fully intending to send a strongly worded letter to the producers of the documentary, whose names were still pinned on his fridge under the sentence "THESE PEOPLE ARE WRONG".

 

Most historians are perfectionists, but Minseok was an exception even within his own realm of study. This was both an advantage, because people knew how much of a precision freak he was and that made his work more valuable, and a drawback, because he worked so much that he'd come close to a burnout a couple times. He also had no time for personal relationships, and his only real friend was a colleague of his, a short young man with owl-like eyes who specialized in the history of Istanbul. This had nothing to do with what Minseok studied (mostly the 20th century in Europe), so they had no cause to work together and thus their friendship flourished. Most people who had to collaborate with Minseok usually admitted that they'd never been so productive and efficient before, and yet were adamant that they'd never do it again. It was just too tiring to work with him.

 

But Minseok loved his work, and it took a lot for it to weigh on him. This book, though.. This book was killing him. He'd finally finished the research on atomic physics, talking to many different scientists, cross-referencing between science manuals and the accounts of the explosion at the power plant, to make sure that he, a total novice to the subject, understood it well enough to explain it to other neophytes. There were diagrams all over the walls of his home, a couple of them even made to order by someone who owed him a favour. He'd figured that this would be the most difficult bit.

 

He should have known better. The human aspect turned out to be a nightmare, accounts and testimonies buried under layers of USSR propaganda. There was very little that didn't fit the narrative that the government had pushed, and he had struggled to even find the names of the people responsible. Little by little, the frustration mounted and killed his inspiration, until one day Kyungsoo walked into his apartment on their appointed hang-out evening to find him lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. No surprise registered on his face, and he simply lowered himself next to his friend on the floor, coming to lie on his back.

Kyungsoo never spoke much, making it very easy to speak to him. Minseok had never been that talkative either. They had sometimes spent evenings together exchanging barely a word, but feeling the intense comfort of quiet and friendly company. Now, though, Minseok was nowhere near comfortable. He felt like he was going to explode from the frustration.

 

"I think I have to give up."

 

"What's wrong ?"

 

Minseok sighed deeply. "I can't find anything. There's no information. There's barely any pictures online, nothing I can base myself on. I'm losing my motivation. I don't know what to do."

 

There was a short silence as Kyungsoo pondered this. "Maybe you need to visit the place."

 

"Visit Pripyat ? Are you kidding me ?"

 

"Why not ?" He shrugged against the floor. "It'll help you feel its reality, make it more than a research subject, you know ?"

 

Minseok didn't answer, and Kyungsoo spoke again. "That's what I did when I got stuck on one of my papers. I went there for a week and explored, and it really unstuck me."

 

When his friend stayed silent, he added, "Plus, how long has it been since you've had a holiday ?"

 

"Where would I even start ? Can I book a full holiday tour there, or what ? Hotel and swimming pool included ?"

 

Kyungsoo ignored his sarcastic tone as he answered, "I can call my friend Jongdae."

 

At this, Minseok's ears pricked up. He'd heard about Jongdae before, although they'd never met. He and Kyungsoo were childhood friends, and he seemed to be constantly going on adventures, though his line of work stayed rather nebulous.

 

"Is he an expert on Chernobyl ?"

 

"No, but he _is_ an urban explorer."

 

"A what, now ?"

 

"He explores abandoned places in cities. He's been to Pripyat at least once that I know of," replied Kyungsoo matter-of-factly.

 

"How come I've never heard of this ?"

 

"It's not exactly legal. He's asked me not to tell people about it."

 

"Not _legal_ ?!" There was a tiny squeak in Minseok's voice. He considered himself to be a law-abiding citizen, and he'd been called uptight about it before.

 

"I mean, it's not completely illegal either, y'know ?"

 

"Your childhood friend is an outlaw ?!"

 

The conversation that night had ended on a categorical refusal from Minseok to call on the outlaw, and yet it stayed in his brain over the next few days, coming up whenever he turned to his first draft or passed one of his diagrams. He had a map of the city up above his desk, and it soon piqued his curiosity so that he found himself looking up the term 'urban explorer' on Google. It turned out to be a rabbit hole of blogs and videos of people climbing crack dens and abandoned buildings, balancing on precarious ledges and metal rods.

The next day, he came in to work with deep dark circles under his eyes and Kyungsoo smiled when he saw them. The young historian had an uncanny ability to read people's minds, one Minseok was grateful for when he received, without having to ask for it, a slip of paper with a phone number on it and the name " Kim Jongdae".

 

 

**

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

**

 

 

It took some time for them to finally set up a meeting, and the help of Kyungsoo, because Jongdae was a careful man. He'd had many close calls with the police but had never yet been arrested, and he intended to keep it that way. He never answered unknown numbers, and the text message that read simply :

 

_Hi, I'd like to ask you about urban exploration. Please call me back._

 

only made him more suspicious. Kyungsoo called him a few days later to explain that this was a friend of his, that he had potential need of him and most importantly that he would be discreet, and Jongdae finally agreed to a meeting at Kyungsoo's place.

 

When he wasn't exploring, he shared a flat with his team members, Chanyeol and Baekhyun. They often went on trips together, as each had a different specialty that helped to balance their group. Living together made everything simpler, not least paying the rent, and they had moved in together upon returning from their latest adventure. Though their blogs and YouTube channels were successful, there wasn't a lot of money in urban exploration.

 

"Guys, I'm going out," called Jongdae as he pulled on his jacket. Both of his friends were on the couch playing Call of Duty, but Chanyeol immediately turned to him.

 

"Are you going to see Kyungsoo ?"

 

"Yeah," he replied, grabbing his keys. He knew where this was going.

 

"Can I come ?"

 

Jongdae's eyes flitted to Baekhyun's back, which had tensed at the question and now seemed to slump a little.

 

"No, this is business, I'm meeting up with a friend of his who needs help about a book apparently."

 

"You're going to help someone with a book ?" Asked Baekhyun in disbelief, adding a sarcastic "Can you even read ?"

 

Jongdae could hear the slight relief in his voice at the change of subject, and he answered simply, "Fuck you," before closing the door and heading out.

 

Kyungsoo's place was on the other side of town, and it took him about an hour of train to get there. They hadn't seen each other in a while, nor had they talked in the meantime. But theirs was an easy friendship that never seemed to suffer from the passage of time. Long separations were forgotten the minute they met up, and it was with a happy yell that he gave his childhood friend a bear hug when he opened the door.

 

"Soo ! How are you ? It's been a while !"

 

Kyungsoo smiled as he hugged him back. He wasn't a very tactile person but somehow Jongdae transcended that barrier. Anyone else would have received a very cold stare if they had tried to touch him like that. Many people often had been frozen to the spot in this way.

 

When they separated, the explorer's eyes turned to the living room, where a man was standing awkwardly, obviously unsure of how to greet him. He had a handsome face, with dark eyebrows that gave him a serious air and delicately rimmed glasses making him the picture of the university professor. He was wearing slacks and a dress shirt, which contrasted oddly with Jongdae's street wear when they shook hands.

 

"Hi, I'm Jongdae," he said easily.

 

The other seemed much more on edge as he replied, "Minseok."

 

They sat down on Kyungsoo's large couch, Minseok remaining on the armchair he had picked for himself upon arrival. Beers were opened and Kyungsoo began asking the usual questions.

 

"So, where've you been lately ?"

 

At this, Jongdae launched into the description of their last trip to Paris, where they had explored catacombs, sewers and abandoned metro tunnels. They laughed when he spoke of Chanyeol's intense discomfort at being so low underground,

 

"He's a rooftopper, you know, so he doesn't really do so well with enclosed spaces."

 

"A rooftopper ?" Asked Minseok for the first time that evening.

 

Jongdae's eyes turned to him, and there was a short silence before he answered, "Yeah, he likes high places. You know those videos where people climb up really high and your palms get sweaty watching it ? That's his deal." He added with a laugh, "It was pretty funny to see this tall guy - Chanyeol's really tall - who's completely comfortable with heights, being so scared of the dark."

 

"Baekhyun must have had fun, though," said Kyungsoo.

 

"Oh, he had a blast. He loves catacombs. We went to the Empire of the Dead and he was like a kid on Christmas morning."

 

Minseok's soft voice came again. "The Empire of the Dead ?"

 

"Oh yeah, it's these piles of bones underneath the city. At some point they ran out of cemetery space and just started piling them up in tunnels. You'd have to ask Baek for the details, he's the one with the historian background."

 

"Archaeology," corrected Kyungsoo. "Not the same thing," he added, giving Minseok a knowing smile. There was a sort of traditional rivalry between historians and archaeologists that usually came up when everyone got drunk after university conferences.

 

"Well, anyway. So I hear you're writing a book, Minseok ?" Jongdae asked after a shrug. He had never been much for academics. Anyone interested in the past was a historian as far as he was concerned.

 

Minseok shifted slightly. "Yeah, I am. It's uh.. It's about Chernobyl and the catastrophe." He seemed uncomfortable to have them both watching him, but Jongdae took it in his stride.

 

"And what would you need my help with ?"

 

"I'm.. I'm a little stuck. There's very little about the human aspect of the catastrophe in the books and articles I've read. Kyungsoo thinks I need to visit the city - Pripyat, that is, to get a better sense of the reality of these people."

 

Jongdae nodded. "So you want an urban explorer to guide you ?"

 

"That's right. Kyungsoo mentioned you'd been there before."

 

"Pripyat ? Yeah, a few years ago. That was what made me get into urbex in the first place. It was a surreal experience and I just remember thinking how cool it would to climb up into all those buildings."

 

"So you didn't explore there ?" Asked Kyungsoo.

 

"No, and I've always regretted it." Jongdae turned back to Minseok as he added, "So if you're going exploring and you need a guide, I'd love to come."

 

"Well, we'll see. It's not settled or anything," replied Minseok rather briskly, earning a surprised look from his friend. "Who knows if I'll even get the chance to go. I'm so busy here."

 

Jongdae gave him a long, searching look before saying simply, "Right," and turning the conversation to Kyungsoo. The rest of the evening was spent with a very silent Minseok listening to them relive their younger days, remembering bygone pranks and old friends.

 

 

**

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

**

 

 

"I panicked, okay ?"

 

"But why ?"

 

"I.. I just panicked," sighed Sehun as he threw himself down on the couch in the living room he shared with his best friend.

 

"Did she say anything ?" Inquired Jongin from the windowsill after a pause.

 

The young man rubbed a hand over his face before answering, "No.. she just looked at me. She's honestly so beautiful, man. I tried to kiss her and she gave me this look, like I'd sneezed in her face or something. It'd make anyone panic."

 

"Do you have a picture ?"

 

"Yeah, hang on," He answered, pulling out his phone and opening the dating app he'd been using recently. The woman's profile was the first thing to pop up, probably because he'd been staring at her pictures all day, regretting his actions upon their first meeting.

 

Jongin took the phone and beheld a picture of a cute young woman with a long brown bob and thick eyebrows. She had delicate features and wore a simple white t-shirt.

 

"And what's her name again ?"

 

"Junmyeon. Isn't that a perfect name ?"

 

Jongin cast a disbelieving look at his roommate. Sehun had never been much of a romantic, simply because he didn't have time with his demanding job as a fashion photographer, so this was a rather unexpected development. He shook his head as he gave the phone back, pulling his own out when it vibrated. His face lit up, and he turned back to his friend with a smile.

 

"Hey, this'll cheer you up ! Guess who's back in town ?"

 

"Your suicidal brother ?"

 

Jongin paid no mind to the exaggerated adjective, continuing "He just came back from Paris apparently ! Wanna meet up ?"

 

There was a short silence from the couch, where Sehun was busy looking into space with a melancholy air, before his expression cleared and he sat up.

 

"Sure, why not."

 

Just then, his own phone vibrated and he let out a whoop as he read the notification.

"Sorry Nini, your brother is gonna have to wait. A living goddess wants to see me again, for some reason."

 

Jongin rolled his eyes. "Can you not be so corny ? I know you've never been in love before but this is seriously making me cringe."

 

Sehun threw a shoe at him and in the end, he went on his own to his brother's new place. Jongdae had moved in upon his return from Paris, and apparently he had roommates now too, who Jongin was excited to meet. He had a lively, sociable temper that thrived on making friends, and it seemed that his brother's team members could do very little but like him. He wasn't an urban explorer, but he _was_ a rather successful route-setter and climber and they would probably have things in common to talk about. Not that that would matter much, Jongin being the kind of person who could make friends with a shark if he decided the shark needed company.

 

"Nini !" Yelled Jongdae when he opened the door, which received the equally enthusiastic reply "Daedae !" and a giant bear hug.

 

"Fuck me, you've grown ! You could almost pick me up," said the older as he observed his little brother. It had been some months since their last meeting, and Jongin had added weight training to his exercise routine, which had slightly enhanced his lean physique.

 

"I will if you don't behave," he threatened with a smile before turning to the two young men looking at him curiously.

 

He strode forward and shook hands with them, greeting the tallest with "You must be Chanyeol," and the sweet-faced one with "And Baekhyun, I imagine ? I've heard a lot about you guys."

 

They answered in kind, sharing his liveliness of temper although Baekhyun seemed slightly more reserved than his tall friend. Chanyeol, Jongin found, was the human equivalent of the Energizer bunny. Conversation flowed just as easily between them as it did with Jongdae, until the subject turned to their next adventure and Chanyeol announced excitedly :

 

"We might be going to Chernobyl soon !"

 

Jongdae's face darkened and he turned away as Jongin asked for details.

 

"There's this cute guy who's writing a book and he wants Jongdae to guide him -" began Chanyeol, but he was quickly interrupted.

 

"I honestly don't think it's going to pan out, Yeol. I told you what happened."

 

"What happened ?" Inquired Jongin instantly.

 

"Dae, just because he was kind of cold doesn't mean anything. He has to write that book, doesn't he ?"

 

"I don't care. He came off as really judgemental. I don't think I could work with him."

 

Just then, Baekhyun's voice came from the kitchen where he was making dinner, calling "Are you guys talking about that cute guy Dae met ?"

 

"He was not that cute !" Was the irate answer that caused the others to burst out laughing.

 

Baekhyun appeared in the doorway with a mixing bowl in hand. "You literally sent me a text message about it five seconds after meeting him."

 

"Go away," replied Jongdae.

 

Jongin picked up the thread of the story, curious to hear more.

 

"So there's a guy who might want you to guide him through Chernobyl ?"

 

Jongdae shook his head. "Pripyat. I'm not going near that power plant, but the city itself is safe enough. Anyway it sounds like he has everything he needs about the plant, he just wants to know more about the people who lived there."

 

"That's kinda nice, actually," said Jongin.

 

"Too bad he's a dick."

 

Chanyeol sighed at this. "Come on, Dae. Can you chill ? He's friends with Kyungsoo, he can't be that bad."

 

"Oh, is that how you met him ?"

 

"Yeah, they're colleagues apparently."

 

"How's Kyungsoo ?" Inquired Jongin suddenly, changing the subject to his brother's relief. "It's been ages since I saw him. I think the last time was when he babysat me while mom went to see some metal concert."

 

Jongdae chuckled at the memory. He'd been at that concert too, tagging along after his mother at only sixteen. "He's great, sounds like he's really enjoying his work. I've never really understood what he sees in research."

 

"I guess it's kind of like urban exploration, but with books instead," replied Jongin after a few seconds of reflexion.

 

"To each their own," shrugged his brother.

 

The talk turned to Chanyeol and his activities as a rooftopper. As Jongin had anticipated, they had a lot in common thanks to his own job as a climber. The evening sped by, especially when Baekhyun joined them with some paleo dish, which they had a great laugh making fun of. Jongdae cheered up rather quickly once the subject of Minseok was off the table, and he seemed to forget all about Chernobyl.

 

 

**

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

**

 

 

Minseok was eating in the university cafeteria, reading a book about the USSR's nuclear program that had seemed promising, and finding it absolutely irrelevant to his research, when Kyungsoo sat down opposite him with one of their female colleagues. He closed his book and greeted them both.

 

"Hi Kyungsoo, hello Junmyeon. What's up ?"

 

Although Junmyeon was technically their boss, she absolutely insisted on everybody being on first name terms. She was by far the friendliest boss any one of them had ever had, but Minseok could tell from the gleam in her eyes that she was up to something and he knew from experience that this was bad news for anyone who stood in her way. She was however uncharacteristically subtle as she asked with an airy tone :

 

"I'm curious about your recent research, Minseok. How's the work going ?"

 

"It's going great," he replied carefully.

 

"Is that so ? Kyungsoo here told me differently."

 

Minseok threw his friend a dirty look, and Kyungsoo kept eating his lunch, supremely unconcerned.

 

"Kyungsoo's wrong."

 

"Really ? Because I thought you'd finished your research into the science bit a _while_ ago," she said, throwing a pointed look at the cover of the book he'd been reading.

 

There was something about her enunciation that made the italics plain to hear, and Minseok sighed.

 

"Okay, I'm kind of stuck. But I'll unstick myself, on my own."

 

"That sounds good. And what's this I hear about a young man who could guide you through the city ?"

 

This time, Minseok turned to his friend. "Are there any beans that you didn't spill ?"

 

Kyungsoo gave him an odd look before delicately answering, "I didn't mention that you found him very cute."

 

Junmyeon started laughing as Minseok spluttered, "Wha - What ? I'm sorry ? _Cute_ ?!"

 

"I know you well enough to know what your face looks like when you see a good-looking person," answered the young historian simply.

 

Sensing her advantage, Junmyeon pressed on. "This settles it. I think that you should absolutely go to Pripyat with Kyungsoo's friend."

 

"The outlaw ?!"

 

Kyungsoo frowned. "Stop calling him that."

 

"I've looked into it," added Junmyeon, "it's barely illegal. You really should go. With a team, and proper equipment and everything."

 

"A team ?! And how am I supposed to pay for this ?"

 

It seemed that he had walked right into Junmyeon's trap, because she gave him a satisfied smile as she revealed, "I pulled some strings, the university is going to fund it. If you don't go we'll just have to find someone else to head the expedition. Here's the paperwork," she added, pulling a thick sheaf from her briefcase. "Go see Kyungsoo's friend and get him to sign, okay ? I'm counting on you."

 

As she gave him a dazzling smile that brooked no refusal, her phone started ringing and she pulled it out with a frown. She seemed to be pondering something for a second before shutting it off.

 

"Who's Sehun ?" Inquired Kyungsoo, peering over her shoulder at the screen.

 

"No one. Some kid," she answered briskly. "But that doesn't matter. Minseok, I'm counting on you. Get that explorer on board or die trying."

 

Minseok stared at her, and she quickly added, "Well technically I'm not allowed to instruct you to die trying, but you catch my drift, yes ?"

 

When he didn't react, she leaned forward. "Are we clear, dear ?"

 

"Yes," he whispered after a tiny silence.

 

And with that, she rose and confidently strode out of the cafeteria. Minseok sat looking after her until she was out of sight, before turning to his friend with a crestfallen expression.

 

"Kyungsoo... you have to help me."

 

"Oh, I'll be coming too."

 

"You will ? To Ukraine ? It's not like there's anything there for you."

 

The young man shrugged. "I, unlike you, am capable of taking a holiday every now and then."

 

"Can you bring the paperwork to your friend ?" Asked the other hopefully.

 

"His name is Jongdae and no."

 

"Please ?"

 

"I'll come along because it's funny to see you so confused by another person, but you have to do the talking."

 

Minseok gave him a long pleading look. "Kyungsoo."

 

But his friend was not to be moved. He looked up from his lunch and met his eye to declare simply, "If you don't I'll tell Junmyeon."

 

And with a groan, Minseok's head sank to meet the table. He was cornered.

 

He wasn't sure what upset him so much about Jongdae. The young man was undeniably handsome, but he seemed to be completely alien to the historian's well-organized and work-focused world. He was the sort of person that Minseok would typically avoid like the plague.

But if he was honest with himself he was glad that the administration was putting pressure on him to go. It was easier to justify going if the university endorsed the project, and he was coming to the conclusion that nothing else would help his book like visiting Pripyat. The immediate nightmare of the historian confronted with a lack of sources was to be replaced with the nightmare of the introvert tasked with putting together a team.

Minseok sighed deeply and for the first time in his life, wondered if his work was really worth what he was about to do.

 

 

**

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

**

 

 

To his surprise, the team was very quickly assembled as Jongdae, for all of his reserves concerning Minseok, could not very well say no to the pay check involved. Chanyeol agreed instantly to come when he heard that Kyungsoo would be there as well, and as Baekhyun had agreed before he knew of it, he had little left to do but regret signing the damn paper and drink a lot of beer in the privacy of his room.

There was need of a professional climber, easily found in Jongin, and of a professional photographer. This job was given to Sehun, although he protested that he was only a fashion photographer and had no experience working in the field. Once again, the paycheck worked its magic in silencing his doubts. Minseok wasn't sure exactly what strings Junmyeon had pulled, but she had done her duty very thoroughly indeed.

 

This important task finished, and the equipment budget settled, he thought there would be little left to do until the day of their departure. He realized how wrong he was during the party Jongdae threw to celebrate their new adventure. The explorer had intentionally quoted a higher gear budget than he really needed, in order to fund such festivities ("A party is essential for building team spirit !" he had insisted). An unconvinced Minseok had been dragged there by Kyungsoo, and he found himself sat on the couch next to a similarly grumpy-looking Baekhyun, both of them nursing a beer as they watched the others make merry.

 

"Why are you unhappy, anyway ?" Asked the young man abruptly, turning to Minseok.

 

After a short silence, he answered simply, "I'm an introvert. I don't like parties."

 

Baekhyun nodded. "Isn't it your dream though ?"

 

"Huh ?"

 

"To go to Chernobyl ?"

 

"Not really a dream. I just... have to, I guess."

 

"Why ?"

 

"Because someone was wrong. On TV. I hate it when people are wrong."

 

Baekhyun gave him an odd look and Minseok felt compelled to continue. "Cause it's like they're lying, right ? They didn't want to put in the work and then they announce this stuff to the world, but it's wrong, and people who don't know any better get tricked into believing them because they sound legitimate." He wasn't sure if he was getting choked up from the beer or the emotions, but he continued anyway. " _I_ can do the work.. I have to. So that I can protect people from those who want to trick them. You know ?"

 

There was another silence before Baekhyun broke into a smile. It was an expression Minseok had never seen on him yet, and he was slightly dazzled for a second. The explorer gave him a nod as he answered, "I respect that, man."

 

The historian felt himself warm over, just as Kyungsoo crashed down onto his lap. Although he was almost as introverted as Minseok, alcohol had an entirely different effect on him, and he usually became the life of the party after a few drinks.

 

"MIN !" He called, in a volume entirely unnecessary at such a short distance. Both Baekhyun and Minseok winced. "Sorry," he whispered, eyes widening apologetically. "Min, why are you brooding on the couch like a vampire ?"

 

"Like a vampire ?"

 

"You're making me sad. Don't you want to celebrate ? Aren't you happy ?" As he asked this, he threw his arms out dramatically, almost knocking the glass out of Baekhyun's hand. The explorer threw him a dirty look, but fortunately before anything worse happened, Kyungsoo was pulled away by Chanyeol's call of "SHOT ! SHOT ! SHOT !"

 

Minseok had caught the dirty look, and he now followed Baekhyun's eyes to the pair. Kyungsoo ran to Chanyeol to get his shot, apparently unaware of the look of pure adoration in the taller's eyes. They made an oddly cute couple, mostly due to their size difference and the fact that everything Chanyeol said seemed to send the shorter into a fit of laughter. Minseok knew better, of course, he knew that drunk Kyungsoo would laugh at literally anything, but his heart went out to Baekhyun whose expression had turned to barely concealed bitterness and envy.

 

"How much longer, do you think ?" He whispered so low that Minseok would have missed it if he hadn't been watching him so attentively.

 

The historian pondered how much to share for a second, the sight of tiny tear pearling on Baekhyun's waterline pushing him to finally say :

 

"It's never going to happen. Kyungsoo doesn't.. He doesn't work like that."

 

Baekhyun didn't answer, instead focusing hard on pulling himself back, lips pressed tightly together and nose scrunching up.

 

"He doesn't want people like you and I do," came Jongdae's voice from the couch's arm, upon which he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He laid a protective hand on his friend's shoulder.

 

There was a tense silence, until Baekhyun sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, his inner battle apparently won.

 

"C'mon Baek. Cheer up."

 

"It's the alcohol," mumbled the young man. "I can usually deal, but beer makes me sad."

 

"Then go to bed," said Jongdae. "You'll need your energy for tomorrow."

 

"You're right," answered Baekhyun, rising shakily.

 

It took a second for the sentence to register and Minseok to ask, "What's tomorrow ?"

 

"We're taking you noobs over to Harperbury Hospital to get some urbex training in," smiled Jongdae.

 

"What ?!"

 

The smile widened at Minseok's air of panic. "Wouldn't want you to arrive in Pripyat a complete novice, now, would we ?"

 

He rose and gave the historian a pat on the back as he added, "Don't worry. No used needles or crackheads there, only the odd insane ghost."

 

And before he walked away, he couldn't resist adding, "The crackden can wait until next week !"

 

He returned to the party, leaving behind a thoroughly shaken Minseok who couldn't quite decide what was worse : the fact that he would have no time to mentally prepare himself for his first experience of illegal exploration, or how Jongdae's sweet smile hid such a snake-like personality.

 

 

**

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

**

 

 

They met the next day at the station in Watford, at the reasonable hour of one in the afternoon. Jongdae seemed fresh from a good night's sleep, whereas Minseok's features were drawn and tense. He knew he was about to take his first step into a world he technically disapproved of, but he had decided that he would make the best of it so that he could bring the truth to light.

It would be easier, he reflected, if Jongdae wasn't giving him such a smug look in the rear-view mirror of the taxi as they approached the abandoned building. He was bundled in the back seat between Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, who were both rather silent, each respectively nursing a hangover and a broken heart. Chanyeol had remained in bed only by virtue of being a very heavy sleeper and absolutely impossible to wake up.

The ride was short and they were soon in the fresh open air, walking towards the main gate. There they met Jongin and Sehun, who'd both been absent from the party and therefore took the time for introductions. Sehun seemed rather tired but Jongin was his usual cheerful self as he greeted Baekhyun, by now a friend of his, and Minseok.

 

"You have very striking eyes," he told the professor, giving him a firm handshake.

 

"Thanks. You, uh.. you don't look much like your brother," was the lame answer as Minseok desperately tried to improvise a compliment. Jongin laughed at this.

 

"We're half-siblings," he explained. "My dad is way handsomer than his."

 

Jongdae rolled his eyes and took over the introduction.

 

"Nini, you remember Kyungsoo, right ? He used to babysit you."

 

Jongin shook his hand, giving the shorter a simple "It's been a while" as their eyes met. The handshake was a beat longer than necessary, and an odd look lingered on both their faces when they separated. No one seemed to notice in the distraction caused by Jongdae's last minute gear check.

 

"Gloves ? Water ? Flashlights ?"

 

A chorus of "Yep" answered each question, and they were soon ready to go. The first ordeal of the day was upon Minseok when Jongdae turned to him and, with a smirk that said "Follow me", scaled the main gate.

 

"This is it," he whispered to himself, swallowing all of his doubts to grasp the rusty metal and pull himself up. His own ascension was perhaps not as graceful as Jongdae's had been, but he was up and over before he knew it, a feeling of elation running through him as he straightened and gave Jongdae a lopsided, gummy grin.

 

"That wasn't so bad now, was it ?" The explorer's tone was sarcastic but it didn't seem to affect the historian, who turned and beckoned to his hungover friend as he tried to scale the gate. Jongin was beside him, giving him pointers.

 

"No, put your foot here... Okay now pull. Harder !" Was the encouragement.

 

In the end, only Sehun was left on the outside, giving them a disgruntled look.

 

"Guys. I'm a fashion photographer. I haven't climbed shit since I was six years old."

 

"C'mon on Sehun," called Jongdae. "You can do it. Think of that sweet, sweet university money."

 

The young man walked up to the gate and after a short silence, reached to the big handle that protruded from the middle. It creaked as he turned it, but the gate swung open easily enough. He looked very smug as he joined the group, and he was greeted by laughter from everyone but the team leader.

 

"Well fuck me," was all Jongdae said.

 

"Too busy showing off to notice the easy way in," Baekhyun teased as they walked through the park to the red brick building.

 

To Minseok's surprise, what followed was fairly straightforward and uneventful. Jongdae and Baekhyun had both visited the place before, as it was a frequent first stop of urban explorers, and they steered the newcomers to a door in the back of the building. The hospital was recently abandoned so nothing was completely ruined, and the historian couldn't help the slight disappointment growing in him. They climbed stairs and went down corridors, poking their heads in here and there into empty, cobwebbed rooms. The paint peeled off most walls, but the sun was shining in and Minseok felt a distinct lack of spookiness. Sehun was taking pictures of everything he could and it seemed like any other walk in an unfamiliar place.

 

"Is this it ?" He asked as they entered what seemed to have been a communal room on the third floor. There was an odd chair here and there, a few old magazines strewn about on the floor and an old wooden desk in a corner. Jongdae threw him a look.

 

"What, is this not illegal enough for you ?"

 

"Honestly," answered the professor with a shrug, "It just feels like visiting any old building."

 

"Right," was all the reply he received. He missed the look that passed between Jongdae and Baekhyun, and it was only when they reached the stairs to the first floor that he realized where they were headed.

 

"That's right," came Jongdae's satisfied tone when he saw his expression. "We were gonna wait a little, but might as well go underground now if you're bored."

 

The very obvious challenge in his tone was exactly what Minseok needed to awaken his competitive spirit. He squared his shoulders and followed the two explorers down. Kyungsoo came after him, looking like he didn't really mind going someplace less bright. Sehun had lost some of his natural sullenness following his success with the gate, and Jongin came last, apparently the only one of the party who wasn't entirely happy with the situation.

 

"Flashlights," called Jongdae from the front of a heavy looking door that stood half open. There was a short fumble as everyone pulled theirs out and then the party moved forward, slipping one by one through the crack and into a pitch-black room. The beams of light seemed very weak in such an environment, and the shadows that lurked just out of sight sent a shiver through their spines. Only Baekhyun appeared comfortable.

 

"This was some sort of storage room," he declared, moving confidently forward into the darkness.

 

"What did they store ?"

 

There was a short silence as Baekhyun moved closer to the boxes piled in one corner. He peered in and straightened, answering simply "Mail," before walking towards another corner of the room to better examine it.

 

Minseok and Kyungsoo crept closer to the boxes and peered in, finding sheets of paper eaten by time and humidity. There was very little left to read on them, but the beginnings or ends of sentences.

 

_Dear mom,_

_The wards keep telling me you'll come and..._

_I don't think they're... from me. But..._

 

The rest of the letter was obscured by another paper. Minseok reached, curious to find out more, but a hiss immediately reached his ear. He turned to find Jongdae beside him, giving him an intense glare.

 

"What's the first rule of urbex ?"

 

"What ?"

 

"We've been over this. What's the first rule of urbex ?"

 

"Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints," answered Kyungsoo automatically. Minseok felt stupid for having forgotten this, but he was also a little nettled.

 

"I'm not taking anything, though. I just want to read more of this letter."

 

"It's okay, Jongdae," called Baekhyun from across the room. "As long he puts it back."

 

After a short staring match, the explorer shrugged and moved away. Minseok was left to examine the letter further, but there was little of interest. Just as he was setting it back down, he heard a tiny whimper from the door. He turned to find that Kyungsoo was no longer by his side, but had joined Jongin, who hadn't moved further into the room.

 

"Guys, I think we'd better leave," called the young man softly as he ran his hand soothingly through Jongin's hair. The climber closed his eyes and his tall frame seemed to shrink as he drew down to Kyungsoo's level and held on to his arm.

 

"Sorry," he muttered. "Sorry, I just..."

 

Jongdae was by his side in an instant and pulling him out into the light, leaving the others to follow. Baekhyun and Minseok met by the door, and the explorer gave him a small smile as he let him through, muttering simply :

 

"Sorry about Jongdae. He's being a dick to you, but I think it's because you make him nervous."

 

This didn't make much sense to Minseok, but he was relieved to find that at least one of his team members didn't seem to hate him.

 

 

**

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

**

 

 

The relative success of the Hospital exploration spurred them on, motivating Jongdae to move the date of their abandoned crack den visit up by a few days. It would be less well lit than the hospital, and without underground areas it seemed the perfect place to get Jongin used to the dark. Chanyeol was of the opinion that his reaction had been completely normal and that any sane person would have done the same, but Jongin insisted that he needed to face this newfound fear of his.

 

"I love climbing," he explained over a shared dinner at Kyungsoo's one day, "I'm not afraid of heights at all. If I can brave the underground too, then I'll be a complete person, y'know ?"

 

Kyungsoo smiled at him warmly and patted his hand. "Good for you, Jongin."

 

The young man blushed at this praise.

 

"You're not _not_ complete, though," interrupted Chanyeol in a somewhat petulant tone. "It's normal to have things you're more comfortable with, and you shouldn't feel the need to change just to gain approval."

 

"It's not approval I want," was the calm answer. "I want to step out of my comfort zone.. challenge myself, I guess."

 

Minseok, from the far side of the table, gave Jongin a serious look. "Challenge is what makes us grow," he said quietly before returning to his food.

 

Jongdae, seated across from him, met Baekhyun's eye with raised eyebrows, but his smirk was not returned as the other turned to Minseok with a soft expression.

 

"I think you're right." They kept talking to each other in lowered voices, leaving Jongdae to shrug and turn back to the rest of the table.

 

When they arrived at the crack den the next day, an unnamed derelict building to the east of the city, Baekhyun seemed to have taken his intimacy with Minseok as an established fact, and he latched on to him from the beginning of their exploration. The professor was surprised but he didn't seem displeased, and Kyungsoo watched them climb the stairs with a small smile.

 

Jongdae's voice cut through his thoughts. "What's up with you ?"

 

"Ah, I'm just happy for Minseok. I wondered if he would like Baekhyun, since they're so different, but it looks like Baekhyun isn't going to leave him a choice. And Minseok doesn't even realize it," he added after a beat, "but he really needs more friends."

 

"Doesn't seem like he really wants them, though."

 

"He does.. deep down."

 

"What is he so cold for, then ?" Asked Jongdae dismissively.

 

Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks, in front of a doorway that led to a room with no floor.

 

"'Dae, do you remember middle school ?"

 

Jongdae stopped as well and turned to him in surprise. "Yeah ?"

 

"Do you remember the kind of kid I was then ?"

 

The explorer pondered for a second. "You were a little shy, I guess."

 

"That's right. And you came up to me and talked to me like we'd known each other forever. Even though I was shy," he continued as Jongdae nodded. "Even though I was cold at first, when I thought you were making fun of me. You gave me a chance."

 

"I couldn't let a tiny kid like you keep getting bullied now, could I ?" He answered with a grin and a playful shove, but Kyungsoo only rolled his eyes at him.

 

"You were no bigger than I was, and you got bullied just as bad."

 

Jongdae threw an arm around him with a laugh, and Kyungsoo's serious demeanour melted a little. "Just promise me.. promise me you'll give him a chance, Dae."

 

"We have nothing in common, though. He's scared of everything. He's scared of talking to me," finished the explorer with a shrug.

 

"He's trying. You don't see the difference but I do. He's really trying. Please try too ? For me ?"

 

"Okay, midget, I will," was the cheerful answer with which Jongdae waltzed off up the dirty, graffitied stairwell. Jongin, coming up behind them, gave a small laugh as he watched his brother go, even as Kyungsoo called after him,

 

"We're literally the same height !"

 

"Never mind him, Kyungsoo," said Jongin with a friendly smile. "He's an idiot."

 

The young man's serious gaze turned to him, but it was quick to break into a smile. They climbed the stairs in companionable silence, soon reaching the second floor where everyone was gathered. It was the first room where standing was possible, all of the others being either covered in a knee-deep layer of garbage or completely floorless.

 

"All right," called Jongdae. "Glad to see everyone got my message about thick shoes, now you should all put your gloves on." He waited for them to do so before he continued. "The gloves are extra protection just in case, but I don't want to see anyone rummaging in the garbage, ok ? You do _not_ want to prick your finger on a used needle."

 

They all nodded. "We can separate into groups, but no less than three of us -"

 

"No fewer," came Minseok's voice. Everyone turned to him and Jongdae's eyes bore into him.

 

"What ?"

 

The professor blushed under the intense scrutiny, but he seemed determined to make his point. "Sorry - I just.. The correct way to say that is 'no fewer than three'."

 

They all stared at him. "Less is for.. non-countable nouns, see ? And fewer is for countable nouns. And since you counted 'three of us'..."

 

His voice trailed off into a silence that was only broken when Baekhyun started laughing.

 

"'Dae has always been horrible with grammar. Good thing you're here to fix him up, Seokkie. Maybe your influence will do enough good that I won't have to correct his blog posts anymore."

 

It was Jongdae's turn to blush at this remark, which set everyone laughing, but he resumed as if nothing had happened. It was only later, when their reduced group was climbing up to the roof, that he approached the professor and said in a low voice :

 

"Could you avoid making me look like an idiot in front of everyone ?"

 

Minseok gave him a surprised look. "You don't look like an idiot. That's like one of the most frequent things I have to correct people on."

 

But Jongdae didn't seem to be very comforted by these words, turning away with a grumbled, "You don't _have_ to correct them though."

 

Chanyeol provided a welcome distraction when he jumped up onto a windowsill, calling : "Guys ! There's a cool-looking fire escape thing out here."

 

"Yeol, no."

 

"... Yeol, yes." Was the only answer they got before Chanyeol stepped out to test the rusted stairs. They creaked and wobbled but held firm under the explorer's giant frame. He climbed a few rungs, stopping to address a big grin to the two young men looking at him.

 

"Are you guys coming or what ? There's a pretty great view from up here."

 

He hoisted himself from the stairs and onto a windowsill on the next floor up, beckoning to Minseok. There was a beat of silence, then he and Jongdae spoke at the same time.

 

"Yeol, he's never climbing that."

 

"Okay, I'll come up."

 

Jongdae turned to the professor in amazement, even as he straightened his backpack and climbed out onto the fire-escape stairs. Above them, Chanyeol was cheering. The stairs wobbled less under Minseok's smaller frame, and he clambered up easily enough. He reached the windowsill and sat down beside the taller, who gave him a grin and a high-five.

The professor was smiling wide when he looked back down and his eyes met Jongdae's gaze. He was chewing his lip pensively, and an annoyed tick passed over his face before he turned back into the room.

He found Kyungsoo looking at him with a smirk.

 

"What ?"

 

"I saw that."

 

"You saw what ?"

 

"I saw you get annoyed at Minseok."

 

"So ? He's annoying."

 

"Because he's proving you wrong ?"

 

Jongdae didn't answer, opting to flee instead, and Kyungsoo's smirk only grew as he silently followed him up the stairs to the next floor of the abandoned apartment complex, where Chanyeol and Minseok were now waiting for them.

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this has been a long time coming. I've been busy, but I'm back ... and having a pretty big XiuBaek moment apparently.
> 
>  
> 
> I think the next chapter on one of my other fics is going to be pure XiuBaek fluff. 
> 
>  
> 
> And the next one on this fic will be up shortly :)


	8. Chapter 8

 

**

 

 

The following weekend brought a new team-building party, this time courtesy of Jongin and Sehun. Having missed the first, they seemed to feel that they owed everyone another chance at a fun evening, and thus Minseok found himself leaving his apartment on a Saturday for the second time in two weeks. He was less reluctant than the previous week, having warmed up to Baekhyun, but there was no denying that he'd much rather be cleaning his windows.

Nevertheless, he stepped out of his home in a casual outfit and made his way to the train station with only one sigh. He felt confident like this, wearing an old black bomber over a white t-shirt and a new pair of jeans that hugged him tighter than his usual pants. He rarely wore them, despite the effect they usually produced. They didn't fail him now. He counted at least three appreciative glances as he headed for the appointed meeting spot.

There he found Kyungsoo in his usual all-black garb, accompanied by Jongdae, who seemed to have decided to blind the whole city with a violently yellow sweater. Instead of his usual smirk, he gave Minseok a genuine smile as he approached, and the professor felt his disapproval fading. He returned the grin, feeling a slight flutter in his heart at the thought that the proverbial hatchet might be buried, but the explorer simply turned away while Kyungsoo greeted him.

The ride over to Jongin and Sehun's shared flat was rather silent, although Kyungsoo made several attempts to get a conversation going that involved everyone. Jongdae seemed distracted, and Minseok certainly felt the same. There was a sense of impatience in his mind ; how much longer could it take for them to get along ? Though he was used to people disliking him, he expected professional relationships to remain cordial. But somehow the idea of simple cordiality from Jongdae was unappealing.

 

"Huh ?"

 

"I was asking about packing," said Kyungsoo with a reproachful look. "We're leaving next week. Have you started ?"

 

"I finished my suitcase yesterday." The professor's reply earned a smirk from Jongdae, but no sarcasm. This must be a step in the right direction, he thought. "What about you ?"

 

"He can't pack until the very last minute," replied Kyungsoo.

 

"I work best under the pressure," Jongdae added, stretching out comfortably under Minseok's gaze.

 

They almost missed their stop while comparing packing methods, and the rush out of the train and onto the platform left them a little breathless. Jongdae was laughing as the two professors straightened themselves out. The fifteen-minute walk from the station to Jongin and Sehun's apartment was more cheerful, and they answered the happy greeting they received with similar goodwill.

Baekhyun approached Minseok with a glass of wine, having learned his preferences at the previous party, but he greeted Kyungsoo without a smile, even as Chanyeol launched himself upon the smaller with a bottle of vodka.

 

"I really shouldn't drink as much as last week. But thank you for offering," was the welcome he received, which seemed to deflate him somewhat. He watched the professor sit down next to Jongin and immediately enter in deep conversation, a frown taking over his features.

It was swept away by Jongdae clapping him on the back and pulling him towards Jongin and Sehun's unconventional dining-room table.

 

"Where did you get it ?" He inquired of the photographer as they examined the old-fashioned foosball men lined up, dutifully waiting for new players.

 

"Our neighbour died," Sehun answered. "Apparently he had no family and a ton of junk. We got this table and the cool-ass radio over there."

 

Just as Jongdae was about to propose a game, the doorbell rang and Sehun bounded over, an excited air on his usually sullen features. It fell when he opened it to find Junmyeon accompanied by a very handsome young man with a dimpled smile.

 

"Hi ! This is Yixing."

 

"Hello," said the stranger pleasantly.

 

Sehun stepped aside to let them in and there was round of hellos from everyone else. Kyungsoo approached them, having recognized the newcomer.

 

"It's nice to see you, Yixing."

 

"You too -"

 

"So I have big news," interrupted Junmyeon with a smile, calling everyone's attention. "Yixing is going to be our interpreter !"

 

There was a second of surprised silence, broken by a happy yell from Jongdae, who was already on his second beer, and the quieter congratulations from Minseok.

 

"Makes sense, but I figured that Russian language symposium next week would keep you too busy," he said, coming closer.

 

"Junmyeon can be very convincing," was the simple reply.

 

Minseok nodded with a smile and retreated to his corner, leaving Baekhyun to jump forth, having returned from the bathroom and recognized Yixing as one of his high-school friends.

 

"Xing ! It's been forever ! You _teach_ now ?!"

 

The other gave a delighted laugh as they hugged and he answered, "Baek ! What the fuck are you still doing alive ?"

 

"Hey, I resent that," Baekhyun was laughing too, contradicting his words. "I was always careful."

 

"Careful ? I watched you climb into a building that was two days away from getting demolished."

 

"You did FUCKING WHAT ?" Called Jongdae from the kitchen where Sehun had finally accepted his offer of a game of foosball.

 

"Look, I know better now."

 

"Dude," said Chanyeol with a serious air while he fished around for drinks in the highest cupboard. "You could have died."

 

"Guys, I was sixteen okay ?"

 

As Minseok watched this unfold from the couch, a sudden queasiness came over him. He rose and fled down the hall to what he hoped would be an empty room. He knew himself well enough that he should have expected this, he reflected. Wine always sharpened his introversion, and the crowd around him quickly became unbearable. To his relief no one saw him go, and he was able to slip into what seemed to be an office unquestioned.

It was a fairly large room with a couple armchairs turned to the window, some bookshelves and a large desk near the door. The cameras on one of the shelves told him this must be Sehun's space. He approached the books, curious to see what the photographer read in his spare time. It turned to be rows upon rows of Japanese manga, which the professor would have scorned otherwise. But in this state he needed the company of a book, and any book would do. He picked the one that seemed most likely to be acceptable, a red and white tome with a bottle of wine and the words _The Drops Of God_ inscribed on the front.

This dramatic title caused a smirk but nonetheless, he sat down with it in the largest and highest chair, curling up to read and soothe his spirits.

He was completely engrossed by the end of the first tome and halfway through the second when the door opened behind him. He froze, unwilling to reveal himself as he heard the first words of what appeared to be a private conversation.

 

"Have you seen them, Jongin ? Have you ?" The accusatory voice could only be Sehun's. "His hands are all over her." They seemed to have stopped at the desk and remained unaware of the professor's presence. He was well-hidden by the high back of the chair, but he desperately hoped that they wouldn't find him there.

 

"That doesn't mean anything, maybe they're just friends."

 

"Friends don't grab each other's asses."

 

"You grabbed mine yesterday," was Jongin's unimpressed answer.

 

"Yeah but we're both straight."

 

There was a short silence in which Minseok thought he detected a layer of awkwardness before Sehun continued.

 

"I can't believe she'd do this to me. Ghosting me after we shared a night of ardent love-making -"

 

"Can you not, dude."

 

"- is one thing," he went on, undeterred by Jongin's interruption. "But bringing a new guy to my house ?"

 

"Look, even if they _are_ sleeping together, that doesn't mean they're a couple. It doesn't look to me like she's remotely interested in anything serious."

 

"But we have to go the Ukraine with this guy."

 

"Have you talked to him ?"

 

"No. I hate him."

 

"Dude !" Jongin's voice was now clearly irritated. "We're not in middle-school. He's actually a really nice guy, so can you swallow your jealousy and try to act like an adult ? I know you're upset," he added in a softer tone, "But I really don't think you're going to impress her acting like this."

 

At that moment, the door banged open and Jongdae's inebriated voice came, interrupting Sehun's reply.

 

"Guys ! FOOSBALL TOURNAMENT !! Oh hey, nice view -"

 

The two younger men left the room as Jongdae came closer to the window. He threw himself into the other armchair, apparently oblivious to Minseok, who was giving him a surprised look.

 

"Wondered where'd you got to," mumbled the explorer without returning the look. "Soo said you get weird like this sometimes."

 

There was nothing to answer to this, so Minseok remained silent. After a spell, Jongdae turned to him.

 

"You ok ?"

 

The professor nodded wordlessly, and the other seemed satisfied with this. He rose, stumbling a little. As he made his way to the door, he called back :

 

"I like your ass in those jeans."

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first rule of UrbEx is indeed :
> 
> Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints ;
> 
> and "don't go exploring buildings that are set to be demolished" is 1.5 because seriously, don't do it. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also thank the universe for Minseok's ass.


	9. Chapter 9

 

**

 

 

The time seemed to fly by until the day of their departure, with an ever-growing list of things to do and to acquire that kept them busy to the end. Jongdae wasn't used to the official and administrative aspect of the project, and the first weeks brought some tension between him and Junmyeon, who had appointed herself executive director and coordinator of operations.

But eventually, an odd sort of friendship blossomed between them. They came to the conclusion that each could be in charge of a very different aspect of the project, and that therefore there was no real overlap to fight about. This brought a certain serenity to their preparations that reached everyone except Minseok. Jongdae's comment had been on repeat in his brain since the party, because try as he might, there was no making sense of it. Sometimes the professor wondered if he had been trying to mess with him, but there had been an air of sincerity in his voice. And why leave if he was making fun of him ? Surely he would have stayed to press his advantage. But while the comment didn't fit with his general attitude of slight mockery and smirking, the idea that he might have been serious was just as confusing. Absently, Minseok reached around to feel his left cheek for the tenth time that week. Was it really that nice ? He'd been wearing his tight jeans, but still.

Just as he went through the same inner argument again, Kyungsoo poked him in the ribs.

 

"What are you thinking about so hard ?"

 

"Unfortunately, not my book," grumbled Minseok.

 

"Cheer up. We're leaving for the Ukraine !" Kyungsoo gave a sweeping gesture that seemed to encompass the entire airport terminal they were currently standing in. He checked his watch as he did, and added, "In less than two hours ! I can't wait to get there and relax a little."

 

"Did you pack a swimsuit ?" Asked Minseok drily, earning a snort from Baekhyun.

 

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. "I know you get sarcastic when you're nervous, so I'm letting that go, but this is the trip of a lifetime ! You should at least try to relax -"

 

"It's still work for me, though."

 

"Then relax while you work. If you stress out too much, you'll miss out on stuff."

 

With a friendly pat on the shoulder, Kyungsoo rose and moved closer to Jongin. Minseok watched him go and his eyes soon fell on Jongdae, seated in the row right behind him and talking earnestly to Chanyeol. He stared at them for a minute, then stood up and disappeared towards the end of the terminal, a plan forming in his mind.

This was counting without Baekhyun, who'd been observing him curiously and now followed him. He only spoke when they reached the duty-free store.

 

"Ah, I thought you were going to the restroom," he declared matter-of-factly, causing Minseok to jump a foot in the air.

 

"Baekhyun ! Why did you follow me ?"

 

The explorer gave him a grin. "I figured you might need company."

 

"... In the restroom ?"

 

"Sure, why not ? So what are you doing ?"

 

All of a sudden, the genius plan he had formulated felt very trite.

 

"I thought I'd.. get some M&M's or something.. to share with Jongdae."

 

Baekhyun's eyebrows rose, prompting him to continue. "To bury the hatchet, kind of ? So that we can start on a new foot, now that we'll be in Chernobyl for real. We have to have a working relationship, right ? So if I share M&M's with him, it's like... 'sorry for calling you an outlaw' I guess," he finished lamely.

 

To his surprise, Baekhyun's smile returned. "That's brilliant ! Did you really call him an outlaw ?"

 

Minseok shrugged. "Urban exploring is not exactly legal, is it."

 

"So would you call me an outlaw ?" Asked the young man excitedly.

 

".. Well yes. You _are_ technically an outlaw, Baekhyun."

 

"I like that. I need a cowboy hat now," was all the reply he got before the other moved on to examining the shelves of candy, occasionally holding a package up for him to see.

They settled on a bag of sour skittles, which apparently Jongdae's favourite type of sweet, and Baekhyun got for himself a chocolate bar. Minseok had to insist that they pay for them at the register, the idea of being an outlaw having tickled the explorer's fancy so that he would have sneaked the candy out illegally if he could have.

 

"We are _not_ stealing in an airport store, Baekhyun," was the hiss that convinced him to walk straight.

 

They returned to their group in cheerful spirits and sat down next to Jongdae and Chanyeol, who were engaged in a game of Mario Kart on their portable consoles.

 

"Heyy, chocolate !" Was the taller's welcoming yell.

 

Jongdae was quieter with Minseok by his side. He accepted the offer of skittles with an air of surprise but didn't comment, choosing to focus on his game instead. To his renewed surprise, the professor didn't leave but took to watching his screen with a growing air of interest.

 

"Do you wanna try ?" Eventually asked Jongdae.

 

Minseok had gotten so interested in the game by that point that he barely answered, nodding eagerly and grabbing onto the console he was being given. Chanyeol gave him a smirk as he said :

 

"It's on, old man. I'm going to crush you."

 

"I don't think so," was the calm reply. "I've been watching and I think I found a flaw in your strategy. I think you're the one who'll end up crying."

 

Baekhyun and Jongdae stared at him, and Kyungsoo turned around from his conversation with Jongin to say in disbelief :

 

"Did I really just hear you shit-talk Chan ?"

 

But he received no answer, the game taking up all of Minseok's concentration. He and Jongin both turned completely to have a better look at the race over his shoulder, and soon the entire group was engaged in the outcome.

The first race was fairly tight, Minseok winning by a small margin.

 

"Beginner's luck," shrugged Chanyeol. "I want a rematch."

 

Minseok looked him in the eye. "Are you sure you want to disgrace your ancestors again ?"

 

"Oh," growled the taller, returning his gaze, "It's _on_ , bitch."

 

But the professor had an uncanny knack for capturing Koopa shells and banana peels and throwing them right in Chanyeol's path. They all watched in amazement as he incapacitated him over and over again, widening the gap so that his opponent was only halfway through when he won.

To Chanyeol's request, they played a third game at the end of which he was forced to admit Minseok's absolute superiority. He did so cheerfully enough, having never been a sore loser, and there was new gleam of respect in his eye as they shook hands.

 

"Well done. Now Jongdae," he called, turning. "Switch seats with me. I don't think I can sit next to the guy who crushed me like that for five hours."

 

When they boarded the flight, Minseok caught Baekhyun's eye. The explorer's grin hadn't left him since he had learned that Chanyeol would be sitting next to him, and he manifested his joy by annoying the taller to the best of his ability. But Chanyeol seemed to enjoy the attention. Minseok and Jongdae watched them board the plane in front of them, both giggling irresponsibly. They shared an eye-roll, and another when everyone was settled and the seat in front of them started shaking as Chanyeol turned the power of tickles on his foe.

They quieted down once the plane started moving, having found a movie to watch together. Minseok and Jongdae sat in silence, neither of them exactly comfortable with the situation.

The professor had descended from his gaming induced high. All of his questions about Jongdae had returned to him, and he felt himself sweat as he desperately tried to untangle the other's meaning and intentions. His mind seemed to be whirling around in a circle. He only recognized the beginnings of an anxiety attack when he started to hear the deafening silence inside his ears and feel the need to escape his own skin.

But then he felt a soft touch on his hand, which was white-knuckled as he gripped the armrest. He looked up to find Jongdae's concerned eyes on him.

 

"Hey, Minseok. It's okay. It's just an airplane, yeah ? Safer than a car."

 

He nodded weakly. The feeling of anxiety ebbed away slowly, leaving him too tired to do anything but fall asleep, thankful for Jongdae's presence by his side.

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I'm having ChanBaek airport feels.
> 
>  
> 
> I'm also very soft for XiuChen being supportive frenemies.
> 
>  
> 
> Could all these feels be due to the horrible sunburn and ensuing heat exhaustion I gave myself this weekend ?
> 
>  
> 
> *sneaky way to let you know that I, an idiot, got a horrible sunburn and heat exhaustion this weekend, which is why this chapter is only coming now. I am trying to figure out a regular posting schedule and failing miserably. Sorry about that.*


	10. Chapter 10

 

**

 

 

For Jongdae the flight to Kiev was a pleasantly quiet experience. Minseok slept the whole time, occasionally slumping onto his shoulder before jerking back up, and both Chanyeol and Baekhyun seemed to have become so engrossed in their movie that they didn't feel the need to bother him. He flipped through his Ukrainian conversation guide, trying some of them out in a low voice so as not to wake his seatmate.

 

"Bud'laska... Diakuju..."

 

By the time they landed in Kiev he felt reasonably confident in his ability to greet and thank local people, although the presence of their interpreter, who was running his hand through Junmyeon's hair as they waited in line, made it a little superfluous. But he thought it better to make an effort.

Thanks to Junmyeon they had received special authorizations to visit the city without a guide, as long as they didn't approach the power plant itself, however there would probably still be guards to mollify and locals to please. He had found when travelling that learning a few basic words of the native language was usually crucial to making a good impression.

As they trudged through to customs and immigration, he noticed that Baekhyun and Chanyeol's intimacy seemed to be continuing, despite the close proximity of Kyungsoo. The young historian stood by Sehun and Jongin, none of them seeming very talkative at the moment. They looked about as sleepy as Minseok, with his ruffled hair and bleary eyes. He was yawning when Jongdae's eyes fell on him, and the sudden attention caused him to quickly raise a hand in front his mouth with an embarrassed blush.

 

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking away before Jongdae could answer.

 

The foursome woke up slowly, and it took their arrival at the train station to become fully conscious. Junmyeon handed out tickets and directed them to their carriage, onto which they all piled with their bags of equipment. In the end they had managed to pack relatively light, and it seemed just a short while to Jongdae before they exited the train and all crossed into the dingy train station. The minivan meant to take them to their hotel was waiting there, and as he met the driver with his newly acquired Ukrainian, he saw his rugged face split into a smile.

Unfortunately for Jongdae, he then broke into a very fast-paced speech that flew completely over his head.

 

"He's asking if we're sure we wouldn't rather go to the Black Sea for a holiday," Yixing stepped in with a smile. "Apparently the weather up here is going to be lousy, and he's willing to drive us down there so we can all enjoy the sun together."

 

Just as Jongdae was laughing at this, they heard a tired, terse voice.

 

"Can we get going ?" Minseok was standing behind them, looking about as friendly as he sounded, and the driver instantly turned away to take care of luggage. Unable to help himself, Jongdae rolled his eyes and went to help him.

 

"Everything okay ?" Asked Baekhyun, a friendly hand on the historian's shoulder. To his surprise, it was shrugged off and Minseok left without answering, instead climbing into the back of the minivan and burrowing down into his scarf, eyes closed.

 

"Well that was weird," the explorer commented to no one in particular.

 

"He's weird," replied Jongdae as went past with more of their luggage to put into the trunk.

 

He felt slightly deflated by the historian's tense tone. From the moment the plane had landed on Ukrainian soil he had been going through the usual set of feelings whenever they arrived somewhere for exploration purposes. There was excitement from the sheer joy of travelling, anticipation for the new things they would see and do, and now there had also been relief that he was returning to explore a place he'd been curious about for so long.

But if Minseok was going to behave like this the whole time, it certainly put a damper on the whole trip. Couldn't he just be excited, like the rest of them ?

Just then, he caught Kyungsoo looking at him with an air that suggested he knew all of Jongdae's thoughts.

 

"Think, dude." He said quietly, adding "Why is he acting like this ?"

 

"Beats me," replied Jongdae with a shrug.

 

"Try a little empathy."

 

"I am trying, Soo."

 

"You're not," the young historian answered, giving him an odd look that pushed Jongdae to blurt out :

 

"Maybe I need time too, you know ?"

 

This seemed to surprise his friend, who let it go.

 

They all piled into the minivan and in a blink, arrived at the hotel.

 

"Okay, gather round," called Jongdae. "Everyone get to your rooms, settle down, unpack, the whole deal. Do whatever you wanna do tonight, just be ready to go tomorrow morning at 8 sharp. Grygoryi will be here with the minivan to pick us up, and anyone who is not there will be left behind. Apparently there's a pub somewhere in walking distance from this place, so we're probably going to go looking for it, but if you just wanna stay in your rooms that's fine too," he said, throwing a quick glance at Minseok who looked visibly relieved. "Okay, I'll go get our keys, and it's two to a room so everyone pair up. Baek !" He barked, "You're with me."

 

 

___

 

 

 

That evening, Minseok was unpacking his suitcase in search of his field notebook when a knock came. He'd been feeling a little queasy ever since landing, and though the quiet afternoon had helped in that regard, he had decided firmly against joining the pub-goers. He'd considered it for a while, especially after having overheard Jongdae calling him weird, and decided in the end that he wanted to be as fresh as possible for the next day's adventures.

There was another knock at the door, and he shook himself out of his thoughts.

 

"Come in," he called, expecting his roommate Kyungsoo to enter. But instead, Baekhyun entered wearing an oddly tired expression.

 

He flopped onto the bed without a word, heaving a deep sigh. Minseok, though amused by the other's flair for the dramatic, didn't comment. He kept going through his suitcase, waiting for Baekhyun to crack.

 

It took only a short silence and another long sigh. "Min.. Life sucks, right ?"

 

"What happened ?"

 

"I thought I'd made some progress.. he wasn't paying any attention to him."

 

"Who are you talking about ?"

 

Ignoring him perfectly, Baekhyun continued. "It's just never going to happen, is it ? You know what annoys me the most ?" He asked all of a sudden, flipping over to look at Minseok with a mournful expression.

 

"What ?"

 

"I can't even really hate Kyungsoo. He's too nice. I can understand why Chanyeol is so smitten with him, and it's horrible. It would be easier if Soo were a dickbag."

 

Minseok gave him a small smile. "I'm glad you're getting to know him a little."

 

"I did use to hate him.. When they first met and he was all Chanyeol would talk about.. And before that I thought we were doing so well.."

 

"Baekhyun," Minseok interrupted, "How long have you been in love with Chanyeol ?"

 

The explorer heaved a deep sigh. "Pretty much forever, I guess. Sometimes I don't even know why, he can be such an idiot. It's like a habit I can't get rid of, no matter how hard I try."

 

Slowly, Minseok sat on the bed by his friend. He was uncertain what to say, but he knew that Baekhyun needed comfort so he reached over and started softly running his hand through the young man's hair. The reaction was instantaneous : he closed his eyes and almost started purring.

 

"Oh, Min.." he groaned after a short silence. "This feels so good.."

 

Minseok smiled and kept going, happy that he was helping. The peace and quiet was short-lived, as Baekhyun's eyes soon flew open again.

 

"What about you ?" He asked.

 

This surprised the historian. "What about me ?"

 

"You cuddled up to Jongdae on the plane and he didn't seem to mind."

 

Minseok froze. "I didn't _cuddle up_.."

 

"You totally did. You were asleep and you burrowed into his neck. It was cute."

 

There was nothing to answer to this but he felt his stomach dropping. He hadn't meant to invade Jongdae's personal space like that - he wasn't even conscious ! Was that why Jongdae had seemed so mad at him earlier ?

 

"Pet me some more," Baekhyun nudged his head against his hand and the historian started the petting up again.

 

They sat like that in silence until another knock came at the door.

 

"Come in," called Baekhyun, as Minseok seemed too lost in his thoughts to answer.

 

Sehun entered with a glum air and flopped onto the armchair.

 

"Aren't you out drinking with the others ?" Inquired Baekhyun.

 

"No.. I didn't feel like it."

 

Though they didn't know Sehun very well, Baekhyun sensed the sadness in his tone and forgetting his own bruised feelings, set about making the young man feel better with a string of idle chatter. Minseok was only half listening as he kept petting Baekhyun, who snuggled up a little closer now and then. Though he wasn't very comfortable with tactile people, there was something about the young man that felt impossible to deny, and Minseok soon found that he didn't mind so much having a lapful of Baekhyun.

The back and forth between he and Sehun soon cheered both of them up, and their frequent laughter lifted Minseok's spirits as well. The young photographer joined them on the bed when they decided to watch a movie together, so that a few hours later, when a knock came at the door, they could be described rather accurately as a cuddle pile.

 

"What ?" Yelled Baekhyun and Sehun in unison, causing the door to open and Chanyeol's head to poke through.

 

"He's here, Dae," the tall young man called over his shoulder as he entered. Jongdae soon followed, a look of annoyance ghosting over his face at the sight that greeted him. Minseok was sitting on the bed, Baekhyun sprawled over his lap and Sehun snuggled up against his side.

 

"So this is where you were," he mumbled. "Baek, I'm going to sleep. Try not to wake me when you come in, okay ?"

 

"I think I'm going to sleep here," was the sleepy reply.

 

"What about Kyungsoo ?"

 

"He can sleep with me !" Chanyeol's face lit up as he suggested it, but even as he finished his sentence, Baekhyun sat up and dragged Sehun out of the room after Jongdae, calling good night to everyone.

 

"See you tomorrow Chanyeol," Minseok said as he walked over to the bathroom.

 

The tall explorer's answer was lost to him. The reality of what awaited him had come crashing back with the sight of Jondae's face. Tomorrow, they would enter Pripyat. He needed to be ready.

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BaekMinHun cuddle pile is a whole concept. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also sorry for the long hiatus. I wanted to finish another fic and I've been so busy. Focusing on this one from now on. 
> 
> I have so many ideas so just strap in,
> 
>  
> 
> next chapter we enter Pripyat. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also it seems that my Xiubaek feels have not abated so get ready for a lot of that, while Jongdae remains an idiot. 
> 
>  
> 
> And thank you for reading ! :D
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT 02/01/2019 : Hello to anyone reading, I'm very sorry for leaving you with such an enthusiastic note and then disappearing like that. Uni hit me hard in november, and also to be honest I kind of feel like I've lost my way with this fic. Like I just don't know exactly where I want to go or how to get there.  
> I'm also very music driven in my writing, and I started writing Ex Nihilo while listening to Electric Kiss. Now that the album+repackage are out I've been listening pretty exclusively to that, which inspires a whole boatload of other stuff to write and... basically I'm a mess of an author and I really, really need to stop writing five vastly different things at the same time. 
> 
> BUT all this said, I'm still in love with this concept and the dynamics I have in place. It might take a little bit of shuffling around but I am absolutely not abandoning this fic.   
> Besides I've been having all of these XiuChen feels. Like, ALL of them. ALL OF THE XIUCHEN 
> 
> So I promise you that this fic is not dead, and that I'm working hard on overcoming my writer's block. Thank you for your patience.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow yes hello this is fic is still alive, I'm sorry for the delay ~

 

**

 

 

 

Entering Pripyat turned out to be much less like entering a city for the purpose of illegal exploration than Minseok had imagined. It was in fact much more like a simple walk in some shady park, for Pripyat had become overgrown by trees to such a degree that it could no longer really be called a city. Buildings had disappeared, torn apart by the bushes that grew out of their very walls.

To everyone's surprise, the area was also full of small noises produced by the wealth of wildlife.

 

"Do you think we'll see a two-headed dog ?" Minseok heard Chanyeol whisper from the front of the group, where he was walking with Jongdae. He didn't catch the reply, but the tone was as sarcastic as Jongdae knew how to be.

 

The paths were still wide enough that they could walk side-by-side, and his own walking partner was Junmyeon, who seemed to have picked that spot as a way to avoid both Yixing and Sehun, rather than through any preference of Minseok. She hardly spoke two words to him the whole morning, and she walked with a rather subdued look on her face.

For some reason, this had caused the unlikely pairing up of Sehun and Yixing, who, after a quiet beginning, soon broke into lively chatter. Bringing up the rear were Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Jongin, engaged in a very heated debate about the ethics of climbing around Constantinople, which Minseok felt absolutely no interest in.

 

He was going over the history of the place in his mind. It had been a small city, founded in the 70s "ex nihilo", or out of nothing, as was common during the Roman Empire. The USSR had built a number of such places, sprouting them out of the ground almost overnight to house the workers of whatever facilities they needed running. At the height of its activity, Pripyat had been home to almost 50 thousand people, thanks to its modern and comfortable infrastructure.

 

Jongdae's voice interrupted his musings at this point. They had reached a large clearing in the forest, and taller buildings were visible poking out of the foliage here and there.

 

"We're in the central point of the city according to this map," said the chief explorer as they all gathered around. "If we go this way we can explore the famous pool," he pointed to their left. "If we go over here we'll find the palace of Energetic Culture,"

 

"My hometown," called Baekhyun from outside the circle with a grin, causing Chanyeol to break out laughing.

 

Ignoring them, Jongdae continued. "There's also the police station, the main plaza and the amusement park over there," he waved vaguely to their right.

 

"Can we go see the pool ?" Said Jongin. "Going by the last Die Hard movie there's some prime climbing ground."

 

"You actually saw that piece of -" Baekhyun's disbelieving voice was interrupted by Chanyeol's enthusiastic one.

 

"Let's do the amusement park ! Come on, it'll be so creepy !"

 

As they all broke out arguing over where to go first, Jongdae's voice rose above the rest. "Everyone shut up ! This is Minseok's decision."

 

Minseok blinked in surprise.

 

"He's the reason we're here, he's the one who's writing a book," Jongdae threw an intimidating look at the rest of them before turning to the historian with a tiny smirk. "Where to, then ?"

 

"The palace," he decided quickly, a little annoyed at Jongdae's attitude. It was nice that he had let him decide, but Minseok thought he heard a slight mocking in the back of the explorer's tone, which couldn't help but rub him the wrong way.

Although they had been doing much better lately, he wouldn't let himself be pushed around, he decided as he led the group towards the main plaza and the Palace of Energetic Culture for their first day of urban exploring.

 

 

__

 

 

They stopped at the base of the derelict building that had housed a monument to the USSR's nuclear program for a last gear check.

 

"Maps ? Goggles ?" Jongdae felt the pull of exploration in his heart, and he couldn't quite keep himself from bouncing up and down as he ran through the list quickly. "Gloves ? Facemasks ? Tweezers ? Water ? Wonderful, in we go !"

 

He and Minseok entered the building first, through a glassless window that let them into a wide empty hall. Banners covered in Cyrillic script had fallen to the ground, and everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. A branch of ivy was creeping in through a window to their right, having begun its slow conquest of the building's wall.

 

"Yixing," called Minseok, "Can you translate these ?"

 

The interpreter knelt by one of the banners and after a second, started speaking slowly. "Pripyat - town of the future, Chernobyl, where great things are forged." He rose and examined another. "Ah ! I've seen this one before. It says 'Glory to the explorers of Space'."

 

Minseok took frantic notes until Sehun waved his camera at him. "Relax ! I'm documenting everything !"

 

"Jongdae," said Chanyeol from the foot of a large staircase, "Baek and I are gonna check on security for the next floors."

 

"Go ahead, we might be a bit longer down here."

 

But there was little more to find in the hall, and when the structural integrity of the stairs and first floor had been ascertained, they all headed up, stepping carefully where Baekhyun instructed them.

 

There were several rooms to explore on this floor, so they decided to split up. Jongdae had gone ahead into the first one, his excitement still flowing. He felt curious to see more, and was happy to be in the field again. There was nothing quite like the stale air of an abandoned building !

 

The room he had entered seemed to have been home to the central administration of the museum, as it was filled with filing cabinets and rickety desks. The dust was even thicker here, but as the windows were all broken he didn't pull up his facemask. He gazed out into the plaza below, making a mental list of all the things he wanted to do while they were here. They would have to make it to at least one rooftop -

 

A loud sneeze interrupted his reverie and he turned to find Minseok in the act of going through one of the cabinets, file by file.

 

Jongdae frowned. "Are you seriously going to read them all ?"

 

"I can't miss anything," was the terse reply.

 

"You also can't read everything."

 

This time the historian didn't answer, and Jongdae looked about the room. His eyes fell on a corner desk that still held some employee's personal belongings.

 

"Look at this shit," he grinned, approaching it.

 

"It's not -"

 

"A rubber ducky ? Seriously ?" He held it up and pressed it at Minseok, eliciting a half-hearted quack and a poorly concealed eye roll. "Aw, and look -" He set the duck down and picked up a framed picture.

 

Intrigued, Minseok left his cabinet and came closer. It was a photograph of a happy family, three children by their mother's side as they all shared a picnic, smiling up at the cameraman - probably the father and employee in question, thought Minseok, looking over the desk for any hint. A diary would have been brilliant - but his own search was interrupted by a snort from Jongdae.

 

"Aren't you glad the eighties are over ? What a terrible fashion sense."

 

"Are you serious ?"

 

The explorer turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. "What ?"

 

"Your first thought upon seeing a happy family is that their clothes are ugly ?"

 

There was something about the historian's tone that nettled Jongdae. "You're just thinking how you can exploit this for your book, is that any better ?"

 

"I am not -"

 

"You don't care about these people any more than I do," snarled Jongdae.

 

"You think I don't care ?!" In the back of his mind, Minseok heard a tiny voice telling him that it wasn't worth getting angry now, not for this. But every smirk and sarcasm Jongdae had ever thrown at him came back and stoked the flames of his anger. To be thus misunderstood was suddenly more than he could bear. He took a step towards Jongdae, who found himself pushed back against the wall.

 

"To study history is to care, more than you can ever know, you selfish -" he growled low, sending shivers up Jongdae's spine that did nothing to appease him.

 

"Selfish ?" He spat back. "I'm selfish ? I organized this trip for you !"

 

"Don't pretend you're doing me a favour - you wanted to come back -"

 

"I still dragged you along, didn't I ?"

 

"You have NO respect for anything -" Minseok crowded closer to Jongdae, fists coming up to grasp his collar. He had never been so furious.

 

"What the fuck is going on here ?!" Baekhyun yelled as he ran forth to break the two of them up. "Stop fighting !"

 

"Mister historian has an issue with how I do things, it seems," was the acid reply from Jongdae. "Just because you can never relax doesn't mean we can't have fun."

 

"Fun ?" Minseok's voice rose and he pressed closer still, inches away from Jongdae, in spite of Baekhyun doing his level best to separate them. "Fun ?! PEOPLE DIED HERE, YOU -"

 

Just at this point, Chanyeol appeared in the door, drawn by the noise. Without a pause he rushed forward and easily lifted Minseok off, in spite of his struggling.

Jongdae remained where he was, a deathly pallor on his taut features as he stared at Minseok, who was being bodily carried out of the room by Chanyeol, yelling all the while, "PUT ME DOWN !"

 

"What's going on ?" Called Kyungsoo as he rushed up the stairs to the landing, where Chanyeol was setting the historian down as delicately as he could.

 

"Nothing whatsoever," growled Minseok, barrelling off up the stairs.

 

"Minseok, wait ! We haven't checked those floors yet !" Chanyeol called after him. "It's not safe !"

 

Kyungsoo patted him on the arm to calm him down, inquiring "What the hell happened ?"

 

"I don't know - they were fighting, I think. Minseok had Jongdae up against a wall.." The taller shook his head in disbelief, at which point Jongdae himself came bursting out of the room and ran down the stairs without a word.

 

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I added a note to the last chapter yesterday, and here I am with a new chapter today so I'll recap a little. 
> 
> First of all I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. I promise this fic isn't dead, it's just in that weird corner of my brain where I'm not sure exactly where to take it and how to keep writing it, so other newer stuff gets in the way (like my space fic which I'm super excited about because I love space and sci-fi)  
> There's also been a very hectic november/december, university-wise and even in my personal life. Just a lot of stuff going on general, which meant unfortunately I had to put this on a back-burner. I just.. I really need to stop writing five different things at once. 
> 
> I am still very much in love with this concept, and having all of the XiuChen feels as always (somewhat more, because is it just me or is Minseok being particularly adorable lately ?)  
> and I'm absolutely intending, not only to continue/finish this fic
> 
> but also to set myself a posting schedule and  
> keep  
> to  
> it. 
> 
> As this fic requires a bit more thought than some of my other ones (partly in terms of dynamic because I have a lot going on), I'm settling for every other thursday. Might be more frequent, will not be less. That is my New Year's resolution as an author - get myself sorted out. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your patience ! If you want to, you can come say hi on instagram @ninebubble, where my activity is.. yeah, pretty sporadic too tbh
> 
> I'm doing my best lol. Also writing a thesis
> 
> (yikes) 
> 
> ANYWAY
> 
> see you soon :)


	12. Chapter 12

 

**

 

 

 

Sehun was busily photographing the remainder of the downstairs hall, oblivious to the fact that his team had gone on without him, when he was drawn out of his focused crouch by Jongdae angrily rushing down the stairs and out of the building. The young man thought he had sensed a tension emanating from him during the morning, but he was surprised to find it had exploded so soon. What could possibly have set him off like that, he wondered.

Their acquaintance was short and Jongdae had been busy for most of it, but Sehun had found him open and what he would generally refer to as "chill", so this didn't seem in character for him.

After a short moment of consideration, he straightened his lanky form and followed Jongdae out of the building to an overgrown back alley where the explorer was pacing angrily, mumbling to himself something that sounded a lot like "fuck". He turned upon hearing footsteps, with an incensed air as though meaning to drastically up the volume on his cursing, but he softened instantly when he saw the apologetic face before him.

 

"Sehun," he said after a deep, calming breath. "What are you doing here ?"

 

"I was worried about you. Are you okay ?"

 

Jongdae softened further, enough to give him a small smile. "I'm.. I'm okay."

 

"What happened ?"

 

"Don't worry about it, Sehunnie." Jongdae had quickly adopted the nickname Jongin usually gave his best friend. He'd had an instantaneous soft spot for the young man ever since their first meeting. "I'll work it out."

 

The photographer waited a second more before daring to ask a question he'd been mulling over ever since being inducted into their team. "Is it about you and Minseok ?"

 

Jongdae's face darkened ominously, causing Sehun to instantly regret his curiosity. But to his surprise, there was no outburst.

 

"Yes," was the short answer. "He's.. infuriating."

 

Jongdae gave a deep sigh, running his hands through his hair. "It's like.. we're not speaking the same language. Nothing he does makes sense to me."

 

Sehun nodded wisely. "I get that."

 

"Do you ?" The explorer looked up at him with something like relief in his eyes. "You've felt this way before ? Because I haven't and I have honestly no idea what's going on."

 

"Junmyeon," said Sehun simply, a sad look ghosting over his features. "No matter what I do she keeps running from me.. but we have something special, I can feel it."

 

In a strange way, this perfectly echoed Jongdae's feelings. Sehun continued, "I've tried everything.. I can tell she has feelings for me, but she won't admit it."

 

This time, the pain in his voice was so evident that Jongdae felt a surge of empathy and moved forward to pat his shoulder. "Hey.. it's not that bad. At least she does have feelings for you, right ?"

 

"We just.. we had such a strong connexion." Sehun's eyes had gathered an odd shine to them, and he sniffed loudly before shaking himself. "Anyway, I'm sure Minseok will come around."

 

"What if he doesn't ? What if we mess up this trip because we can't understand each other ?"

 

"Maybe you just need to stop trying to understand him. Let him be himself."

 

"But," and Jongdae felt an odd knot in the pit of his stomach as he geared up to voice one of his deepest thoughts, "what if him being himself means hating me ?"

 

Sehun pondered this for a moment. "Fuck, I don't know. That would suck."

 

They stood in silence for some time longer, Jongdae's face growing increasingly serious, until the photographer spoke again. "But you know.. somehow I don't think he hates you. He looks at you too much. Maybe you should just try apologizing."

 

"I hate apologizing," mumbled Jongdae, looking considerably less upset than he had been mere moments ago.

 

 

*

 

 

"Minseok ?" Chanyeol called out tentatively at the foot of the stairway. "Minseok, please come down ? It's not safe -"

 

"Let me," said Kyungsoo suddenly, moving forward. A large hand stopped him.

 

"No, Kyungsoo, I mean it. You might fall through the floor."

 

"Minseok's gone up, though."

 

But this didn't seem to make the tall explorer feel better. "What about the radiation ?" He waved his Geiger Counter.

 

"Listen Chanyeol," Kyungsoo's voice had grown impatient. "I can't leave him alone up there. He's gone up, I'm following." Laying a soft hand on Chanyeol's arm, he added, "I promise I'll be careful."

 

There was a short battle of wills between the two, and eventually Chanyeol's shoulders slumped. He handed the Geiger Counter to Kyungsoo, who took it with a grateful nod and headed up the stairs, stepping gingerly from one to the next, under the taller's watchful eyes.

 

"If you hear anything crack, come back down okay ?" He called half-heartedly after Kyungsoo, who gave him a simple thumbs up in response. The radiation detector remained silent and when he reached the top, he turned to wave reassuringly at Chanyeol, who was still staring at him with a frown.

 

The historian found his friend leaning against a wall on the landing, just out of sight, breathing deeply through his nose. He turned sharply upon hearing Kyungsoo's shuffle, a severe expression creasing his dark brows. It cleared only slightly when he saw who was joining him.

Instead of speaking, Kyungsoo leaned against the wall and stared off into space, having guessed that Minseok was dreading answering questions. The silence remained stormy for some time, but he eventually gave a deep sigh.

 

"I didn't mean to lose it like that.." He whispered.

 

"What happened ?" Kyungsoo asked gently, eyes still roaming over the wall in front of him.

 

"I lost it."

 

There was a soft snort. "Yeah, I gathered as much. What did he do ?"

 

"Nothing important really. It's like all of a sudden I couldn't bear it anymore that he keeps making fun of me."

 

Kyungsoo nodded slowly. "He does like to laugh."

 

"I was determined to deal with it so that this trip could go well, but I've messed it up already," Minseok groaned, burying his face in his hands. "It's the first day and I've messed up."

 

"Then just go apologize."

 

"I don't think he'll want to hear it."

 

Kyungsoo turned to look at his friend with a frown. "You're being an idiot. You don't even know him. Stop assuming and give him a chance."

 

When Minseok didn't answer, he added, "I've known him since we were kids and I can tell you one thing you definitely don't know - the more nervous he is, the more he makes fun of things. That's his defence -"

 

But he was cut short by Minseok going, "Oh my god, Soo."

 

"What ? It's true. So stop -"

 

"No, I mean.. Is that what I think it is ?" The historian was pointing to a dirty notebook lying in a corner, at the foot of the next flight of stairs. Everything else forgotten, he knelt to examine the object, which was covered in obviously handwritten notes. "I have to get this to Yixing !"

 

 

*

 

 

Though apologizing was not a pleasant prospect, his talk with Sehun had calmed Jongdae down enough that he felt himself ready to attempt it. He probably shouldn't have made light of the finds, and he was determined to try and make amends.

He was very surprised when Minseok met him at the window with an excited face, a dirty notebook in hand.

 

"Oh, hey -" He said, as though remembering something of little importance. "Listen, I want to apologize to you. I know we just don't have much common and that makes it hard to get along, but I just want you to know that I'll do my best to keep it neutral. When this trip is over, we can stop seeing each other entirely. Until then, I'll do my best to stay civil with you, okay ?" He held a hand to shake on this.

 

Jongdae took it and shook without a smile. His stomach felt like it was free falling away from him at the historian's words.

He watched Minseok join Yixing in the sunshine, and thought to himself that, somehow, receiving this apology was much worse than if he had had to make it himself.

 

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why YES
> 
>  
> 
> this update IS earlier than I had planned.
> 
>  
> 
> Perhaps making a schedule is not such a bad idea after all !
> 
>  
> 
> Everybody have a lovely day   
> ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ


	13. Chapter 13

 

**

 

 

 

The next day, they decided that they would split up into two teams, in order to cover more ground. Though Jongdae recognized the wisdom of this decision, he felt his heart sink within him even as devoured a delicious plate of pancakes for breakfast. The teams were picked quickly while they ate and they made an effort to balance them well. As Yixing was the only one capable of speaking Russian, they decided he would go with Minseok and they would form the core of team A.

Team B's job was to collect as much data as possible for Yixing to translate and Minseok to analyse later.

 

"Focus on things that look handwritten, like diaries or postcards. Anything that tells about daily life here I'm interested in. Try to find those details that will help put the actual people at the centre of the narrative."

 

They all nodded. Minseok looked around the breakfast table.

 

"When we talk about the catastrophe, numbers are thrown around - amount of radiation released, the time it took to cover the reactor - people are rarely a main focus. But this was a real city, and real people lived in it. I want to give them a voice."

 

More silent nods. Everyone looked sobered at the thought, which pleased Minseok. It meant they would take this seriously.

 

"Does anyone have any questions ?"

 

Kyungsoo raised his hand.

 

"Soo, you don't have to raise your hand, I'm not your professor."

 

He promptly put his hand back down, earning a snort from Baekhyun, whom he turned to glare at for a split second. "I was just wondering if we'll meet up at some point during the day. Like, for lunch ?"

 

Minseok frowned. He hadn't really thought about this. "I don't know. We have a lot of ground to cover and not that much time left. This isn't really a picnic."

 

"Okay, team leader," was the young historian's simple answer.

 

With a rustle, Junmyeon pulled a pair of tiny walkie-talkies out her bag. "By the way, these are for the team leaders, so you guys can communicate." She handed them to Minseok.

 

"I guess we haven't finished appointing the teams. Let's see," he looked around. "Sehun, I think it's best if you go with team B. I trust your eye. I'd rather be able to have a say in what our secondary photographer does."

 

Junmyeon glowered. Sehun had given her a crash course in photography, but she seemed displeased with Minseok's assessment that she had no directly useful skills in this particular context, although she couldn't really disagree. If he was honest with himself, Minseok felt some trepidation at the thought of giving her orders. But he would do what had to be done for this book.

 

"Now, for the explorers -" He started, but was soon interrupted.

 

"Take Jongin and Baekhyun. You'll have a climber and an underground expert. Chanyeol and I will do very well for team B," was Jongdae's quiet comment.

 

Minseok gave him a searching look. He had noticed during breakfast that the explorer was more subdued than usual, and this only seemed to confirm that something was wrong. But what could it be ? He had apologized the previous afternoon. Had he done it wrong ?

He would have to figure this out later. The van was waiting to take them to Pripyat.

 

"Okay," he nodded. "Then that just leaves Kyungsoo -"

 

"I'll come with you !" Was the eager reply, which caused Chanyeol's shoulders to fall imperceptibly.

 

"We're already five of us to one team. You go with Team B," and with that, Chanyeol brightened again.

 

"Okay," was Kyungsoo's simple reply.

 

They all rose and started to get ready, while Minseok circled around the table and over to Jongdae.

 

"Here's a walkie-talkie," he said, handing him one of the little devices. He stopped in surprise. Jongdae looked terrible at this distance. "Are you okay ?"

 

The explorer looked up, an odd expression in his eyes. "What ?"

 

"You look awful." Even as he said this, Minseok knew he was being too blunt. He waved apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just.. your face.." Oh god. He was making it worse.

 

Jongdae's surprised air turned to something weird, and in a flash Minseok understood the meaning of the word "crestfallen".

 

"My face ?" He repeated slowly.

 

"I mean.. you just look like you haven't slept enough. Your face is fine, it's a good face - It's just your dark circles - but they look okay on you -" Would someone please punch him in the mouth, he thought frantically. He could feel himself blushing. "Anyway. Here's your walkie-talkie. Keep me posted."

 

He thrust the device into Jongdae's hand and almost ran out of the room.

 

 

*

 

 

Team B was sent off to explore the pool while Team A returned to the main plaza to explore another building. Minseok seemed to have little hope of finding anything interesting at the pool, and the two teams separated with little more than a few words of encouragement.

 

Jongdae, map in hand, led his reduced group through the thick undergrowth, doing his best to focus on the path.

It seemed to keep disappearing under his feet, or walls would spring up out of nowhere and trip him up, or sometimes a branch would appear in front of his face without warning.

 

"Jesus, dude, be careful," Came Chanyeol's deep voice from behind him as he disentangled his pants from yet another bramble bush.

 

With the taller's help, he was soon free and they continued on their way.

 

All of a sudden, out of the thick line of trees appeared a square cement building. It wasn't a very tall structure, but they all stood for a second to take the view in. One side was almost completely open, covered in windows that must have opened to a lovely landscape before the catastrophe.

Without a word, Sehun started snapping pictures, moving around to get the best angles.

 

The walkie-talkie sparked to life.

 

"Team B, this is Team A, repeat this is Team A. How you doin ?"

 

Jongdae switched it on. "I can't believe Minseok gave you the walkie-talkie, Baek."

 

"Code name : Brontosaurus, repeat code name : Brontosaurus. Also he said since I like talking so much I should be in charge of it."

 

Chanyeol bounded up upon hearing the familiar voice. "Is that Baek ? Can I give it a try ?"

 

"Sure," smiled Jongdae, handing him the device. "His code name is Brontosaurus."

 

Chanyeol pressed the button and immediately switched to a gravelly voice.

 

"Brontosaurus, this is code-name : Choco Puffs, repeat code-name : Choco Puffs. Do you read me ?"

 

"Roger that Choco puffs ! The barracuda is in the building, repeat the barracuda is in the building."

 

Jongdae rolled his eyes and walked off to join Kyungsoo, who was attempting a sketch of the pool in his notebook. It looked rather more wiggly than its real counterpart, but the perspective was okay. After making sure that Chanyeol was still engrossed in the walkie-talkie, he cleared his throat.

 

"Sorry about that."

 

"Sorry about what ?"

 

"I know you'd rather avoid Chanyeol.."

 

"Oh." Kyungsoo's pen stilled. "It's okay, I just don't want to lead him on."

 

"It doesn't look to me like you are, but he can be a bit of an idiot."

 

They stood in silence, listening to the indistinct sounds of merriment coming from behind them as Baekhyun and Chanyeol argued over the best code-name to give Jongin.

 

"It's kind of dumb that he's into me when he gets along so well with Baek," sighed Kyungsoo after a while.

 

Jongdae nodded. "I know. They would be perfect together."

 

"What was that with Minseok this morning, by the way ?" It was Kyungsoo's habit to abruptly change topics with little to no warning, but sometimes he still caught Jongdae off guard.

 

"What do you mean ?"

 

"I saw you talking, then you both blushed and he ran away ?"

 

Jongdae felt warmth creeping back up his face. "I don't know, man. He said my face was awful, then he said I looked tired, then he said I had a good face."

 

To his surprise, Kyungsoo burst out laughing. He frowned. "What's so funny ?"

 

"Classic Minseok failing at compliments. He once told Junmyeon her dress was tight and he genuinely thought it was a nice thing to say."

 

Jongdae pondered that for a second. "I guess I can kind of see what that could mean. Maybe he thought it fit her well ?"

 

Still smiling, Kyungsoo gave him a long look. "That's what he told me after she had walked off."

 

Sehun joined them then, and they started moving towards the pool's entrance, Chanyeol following them, still engrossed in his pretend-spy conversation. They walked in an empty doorway and up a flight of stairs, Geiger counter held in front of them. For the most part this was a fairly safe place to explore, as tourists visited often.

 

It was as they entered the main space, bathed in a soft light from the high windows that opened to the forest on their left side, that something clicked in Jongdae's brain. He turned to Kyungsoo.

 

"You mean he was paying me a compliment ?"

 

To which Kyungsoo answered only with a smirk, before walking off to examine some of the graffiti. Chanyeol had gone to find a way to the roof, while Sehun was crouching in the pool taking pictures of the tile.

 

Jongdae stood still for a second, pondering this new development. With a shake of his head, he grumbled "Fucking mixed signals," and turned to follow Chanyeol up to the roof.

 

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say I'm enjoying this posting schedule thing. 
> 
> I've had to put other projects on hold because of university, but to have this one stay on my to-do list is nice. It allows me a break from school work, which I really need. And the two weeks give me the time to think, write and edit with little to no stress.
> 
> And by the way, if you're interested in Pripyat you can look it up on Google Earth/Images for a better picture of what it looks like. You can wander around the streets and everything. I can't claim that this fic is 100% authentic but I have spent some hours clicking around the city before starting to write. It's pretty surreal, and very neat. 
> 
> Have a lovely day 
> 
> (✿◠‿◠)


	14. Chapter 14

 

**

 

 

 

Though Minseok never loved going to the pub, he joined the group that evening with little trepidation. The day's exploration of an apartment building had been lovely and quiet, and if he was correct they had made a couple very interesting finds that he needed Yixing to study as soon as possible.

 

As Yixing seemed determined to go for a pint with a few of the other explorers, Minseok found himself tagging along, surprising everyone. Jongdae had even been about to make a remark, but his apology the previous day seemed to have succeeded in establishing a form of peace because the explorer shut his mouth without saying a word.

 

This lasted until they reached the pub and Jongdae held the door open for him to pass, whispering something that sounded a lot like "Your ass is excellent" as Minseok went by.

The historian had fairly jumped in surprise, only to find an absolutely innocent air on Jongdae's features.

 

"What ?" He'd said, as though he hadn't just - but Minseok had heard him ! Or so he thought ?

 

It was fortunate that they had more pressing matters to attend to, and Minseok was able to distract himself from The Return of the Ass Man. He'd actually managed to forget the last time Jongdae had complimented his ass, in the excitement and whirlwind of reaching Chernobyl.

But this was a matter too deep to ponder for the present, so he turned to Yixing and handed him the slip of paper covered in Cyrillic script that he had carefully copied out from a note tacked to a door.

 

They'd gotten the gist of it during the exploration, but a couple weird sentences merited closer attention. Their translation had been iffy at best.

 

"You know," Yixing pointed out after a deep draught of beer, "This is colloquial Ukrainian, and every region has their own colloquialisms. This might be in Eastern Polissian and not even Ukrainian for all we know."

 

Minseok frowned. "But you can still translate it, right ?"

 

"Of course he can !" Junmyeon appeared at their table with a wide smile. "He's the best in our university."

 

"I've always found our university's standards to be pretty low," retorted Kyungsoo from the bar, where he was talking to Chanyeol. Yixing threw a peanut at him.

 

"Fuck off. Anyway Minseok," he turned back to the historian, "I'll certainly do my very best. Now let's see this note."

 

With beer probably more of a hindrance than a help, they bent over the paper for the next hour.

 

"This is definitely in the imperative mode," Yixing pointed. "See the verb ending, and the palatalised stem ?"

 

"Uh-huh," Minseok nodded, not seeing at all. "So you said this is the verb to go, right ? So, this says 'Go here' ?"

 

"Yes, probably.. although see, here's the object pronoun, in the accusative, first person plural."

 

"So 'Go us' ?" The historian frowned. "That makes no sense."

 

Fortunately at this point, the bartender leaned over to look and offer help, and supplied them with the helpful hint that "Go" could sometimes mean "Find", especially here in the north of the country.

And with that, the meaning clicked for Yixing.

 

"That's it ! It says 'Find us at the post office by the hotel. We'll be there.. until 4pm.. Please hurry.'"

 

They exchanged a look.

 

"What do you think this means ?" Asked Yixing gravely.

 

"It sounds like someone setting a meeting-up point. I'm guessing the family was being evacuated but someone was missing so they left the note in case they returned to the apartment. What's this ?" Minseok pointed at the short scrawl at the top of the paper.

 

"That's an affectionate nickname for a male child."

 

They both grew silent as the impact of this settled over them.

 

"He was probably still in school..." Minseok whispered.

 

"Yikes," was Yixing answer. "I think I need another drink."

 

"And I think we need to go see that post office."

 

 

*

 

 

Chanyeol blinked slowly in the dim light of the pub. He was the only one left in the booth, and for once it felt nice not to be moving too much. They'd had a long day in that pool, climbing surfaces and getting cool pictures. The article on the blog would look awesome, but he and Jongdae had attempted a few stunts that they probably shouldn't have. He winced and rubbed his shoulder. It had been so nice to feel like the good old days of brash, meaningless exploration were back, that they hadn't been careful enough.

 

Why did everything have to have a meaning now ? And couldn't one do just fine without a purpose ?

 

He swirled the beer around in his half-empty glass. It had tasted pretty bad at first, but a few pints in and it was actually okay.

 

He took a sip and winced. So it was definitely _not_ great beer, but Yixing hadn't been around when he'd ordered, so he'd just pointed at a random tap and nodded vigorously. And then everyone had kept giving him refills in that same glass.

His eyes strayed over to where Yixing was standing, talking to Minseok and Junmyeon, with occasional input from a couple locals.

 

It was pretty cool to be able to speak more than one language, Chanyeol thought lazily. He'd have to tell Yixing how cool he was, someday.

 

"Make a note of that," he mumbled to himself and took another swig.

 

A little to their left, Kyungsoo sat at the bar staring into space, a crease in his face. Although he looked adorable as always, Chanyeol felt himself grow slightly annoyed.

Why was everything always so serious with him ? And why was everyone always _doing_ stuff ? Wasn't it enough to just be ?

 

Earlier he'd asked Kyungsoo a simple question and received a five-minute answer about the emperor Justinian, and an article that he was writing at the moment. He was always a little wary of asking people about their occupation for this reason, and because of the question that inevitably followed : "How 'bout you ? What do you do ?"

 

Chanyeol sighed. Though he wouldn't change his occupation for the world, he hated the face people made when he attempted to explain. The polite surprise, the slight disbelief and then the automatic "Is that a real job ?" follow up.

 

Did it have to be ?

 

And why was he thinking about it now ? Kyungsoo hadn't even said any of it. He knew perfectly well what Chanyeol did with his time. So why was he feeling this way ? As though he should be doing something that mattered, something that would last ?

In comparison to Kyungsoo, it felt like he was wasting precious time to better himself.

 

He took yet another swig of beer, a sour feeling settling over his heart. Just at that point, someone threw themselves down in the booth next to him.

 

"You ok, Yeol ?" Baekhyun's words were slightly slurred, his tone unusually soft.

 

Chanyeol sighed. He could never keep his feelings off his face. "Do you.. do you ever..," he started, but somehow making words felt much harder than thinking about all this.

But Baekhyun was watching him with the kind of focus only he knew how to show, as though he were the only person in the world that mattered, so Chanyeol breathed in and tried again. "Do you ever think. About what we do. And like.. wonder... if, if it matters ?"

 

He knew he was being extremely unclear, and he cursed at himself. It made so much sense in his head ! Why couldn't it make sense outside too ?

 

"I mean," he started, at the same time as Baekhyun spoke.

 

"You mean, do I wonder if it's a waste of time to devote my life to urbex, and whether I should be doing something more productive ?"

 

"Yes !" Baekhyun understood. Baekhyun always understood.

 

Baekhyun looked at him a few seconds longer, his gaze burning with an intensity that seared into Chanyeol's brain. He felt an odd wiggle in his guts and put his pint down. _Too much alcohol_ , he grumbled to himself.

 

"I guess I do, sometimes," Baekhyun finally answered, running his fingers through his hair thoughtfully before breaking out into a grin. "You know what conclusion I always end up at, though ?"

 

"What ?" Chanyeol leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyebrows creased. No matter how inebriated he was, he had to get this.

 

"That's all life is. A waste of time."

 

Chanyeol frowned further. Baekhyun shrugged.

 

"We're all just here wasting time until we die. Ultimately the only thing that really matters isn't how you waste time, but who you waste it with."

 

And suddenly the clouds parted. Chanyeol threw himself back into the booth, letting the mind explosion wash over him. He closed his eyes, thoughts whirling. In the haze of alcohol nothing sharpened for him but the deep, instinctual understand that Baekhyun was right.

 

"Woah dude," he said out loud. When he opened his eyes, he found Baekhyun's eyes still riveted to him, shining oddly, and a new certainty clicked into place.

 

He let his face hit the table, groaning "Too many mindfucks for one evening."

 

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's technically Friday where I am but as it's still Thursday in some parts of the world, I'm counting myself as still within schedule.
> 
>  
> 
> I realize little of importance happens in this chapter, but sometimes you gotta set things up to get any payoff,   
> and also I wanted to give ChanBaek a moment. 
> 
>  
> 
> I'm always soft for ChanBaek.   
> I mean, really I'm always soft for all of EXO. But this is ChanBaek week in my little heart
> 
>  
> 
> Have a lovely day !


	15. Chapter 15

 

**

 

 

Something was _wrong_. Minseok felt it in his bones, almost as soon as they left that day. At first, he'd put it down to the constitution of teams for they day. Jongin had switched over to B team, who were being sent to the amusement park. That was the place he'd been most excited to visit, as he reminded everyone forcefully when the topic of exploring it came up. There would be prime climbing grounds, and there was no way he was missing out on them. Minseok wasn't entirely convinced that he didn't just want to spend the day with Kyungsoo, but who was he to judge ?

However, this meant that someone had to switch over as well, to keep things relatively balanced, and of course Jongdae had been the one to volunteer.

 

"Otherwise you won't have a real urban explorer with you," he'd smirked at Baekhyun who'd responded by punching his arm.

 

They'd been reasonably well behaved on the way to Pripyat, and Minseok put his growing sense of dread down to breakfast, but now that they had arrived to their destination he wasn't so sure anymore.

 

Something _felt_ wrong.

 

They had succeeded in triangulating the location of the post office with the help of a map and the hotel concierge. It could only be to the north of town, where the evacuation routes had been set up to lead people away from the power plant. By carefully scanning the map for post offices close by hotels to the north of town, they had found the only really viable candidate for the rendezvous point given in the note.

 

"Why'd you want to go there anyway ?" Asked Baekhyun as the van neared the entrance to the city.

 

"There might be something.. a sign that they found each other," Minseok mumbled. "We have to check. And besides, we can get pictures of the evacuation routes."

 

In the back of the van, he heard the low voices of Junmyeon and Yixing talking something over in an urgent tone. They must be having a fight of sorts, but Minseok was certain he had seen her creep into his room last night, so what could be wrong ?

He shook himself. Interpersonal drama didn't matter, unless it had happened a suitable number of years ago.

 

Sometimes, he felt a twinge at the thought that everything he cared about was long gone. Kyungsoo occasionally teased him for this. "Get a hobby," he'd say. But nothing seemed interesting enough to devote himself to for any significant period of time. "Then get a boyfriend," was usually his friend's next sarcastic remark.

Minseok shivered in his seat. Kyungsoo didn't know what memories that simple sentence invoked in him, because he never talked about it. Fortunately he didn't care about relationships and therefore didn't bring it up very often, except in variations of "You need to get laid" every now and then.

 

Minseok gave himself yet another shake to clear his mind. The van was pulling over to let them out, and he needed to focus. But even as the steely resolve of the researcher settled over him.. _something_ felt wrong.

 

"You ok ?" Kyungsoo inquired while they got their bags out of the trunk and started off. The queasiness must have been evident on his face.

 

"I don't know.. for some reason I feel like we shouldn't separate today."

 

"We only have a few days left," came Junmyeon's voice from behind them. "We need to be as efficient as possible."

 

"I know," replied Minseok quietly, "It's just.. I don't know. I guess my spidey-sense is tingling for some reason."

 

Their conversation was interrupted by Baekhyun being his usual loud self. "Minseok-man, Minseok-man, does whatever historians can ! Writes a book ! Any siiiize !"

 

"Catches facts just like flies ?" Supplied Chanyeol helpfully, causing both of them to reprise the theme song.

 

To Minseok's surprise, Jongdae came to his rescue with a well placed "Shut the fuck up, you dumbasses."

 

Not that he really minded getting his own theme song, but it was nice to have a little quiet as they set off through the forest together. Jongdae began humming to himself as they walked side by side, and Minseok found himself relaxing slightly.

Perhaps he was just being paranoid. What could really go wrong in an abandoned city ?

 

Well, of course, a lot of things could go wrong. But they'd all had first-aid training, and they knew to be careful. The worst thing that could happen would probably be hitting an unexpected pocket of radiation, but they had the Geiger counters for that.

 

Really, he was being overly cautious. They waved B team away at the amusement park, a large field full of tall and rusty structures that Minseok felt very glad he wouldn't have to climb.

Jongdae seemed to feel the same way, a frown creasing his features.

 

"Chanyeol," he called as the taller strode forth with an excited air, "You be careful up there. And Jongin !" His little brother seemed only slightly more receptive to the warnings, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay ? I don't want to have to tell mom you broke your neck or caught tetanus or whatever."

 

"We'll be fine, dude." Jongin gave him a reassuring pat. "Besides, Kyungsoo is there to stop us doing anything too dumb."

 

The young historian, looking tiny in his giant coat and thick glasses, gave a non-committal shrug. "I'm not babysitting you idiots. I'm just here to relax and forget about work."

 

Both groups waved each other off, the cheerful banter of B team still going strong, as the A team walked away quietly.

 

The further north they headed, the quieter everything got. Nobody spoke, and Minseok soon realized that the birdsong which had been their constant companion up until then had disappeared, leaving the forested city eerily silent. The structures became even more decrepit as they went on, leading them to doubt that they had gone the right way, until Yixing pointed to a fallen sign, half covered by the bushes that poured out the window of a tall building.

 

"This says Hotel ! We must be getting close."

 

Their pace quickened, and they soon came to a long, low wall covered in ivy.

 

"We're here," said Minseok, examining his map. Jongdae drew closer to look at it, resting his chin on the historian's shoulder.

The world seemed to pause at this unexpected touch, but just as quickly as he had come, Jongdae left, pointing to a door.

 

"We have a point of entry !"

 

They all filed in after him through the half-open door, Minseok coming last, having needed a second to reboot his brain.

It was dark inside the post office, the few windows obscured with overgrown bushes. A couple solitary rays of light came through holes in the ceiling, which was unpleasantly low, giving him a feeling of claustrophobia.

 

Junmyeon seemed to feel the same. "Well, this is cosy," she muttered sarcastically.

 

"Yes I could really see myself getting a holiday home like this," was Yixing's cheerful reply, but their conversation stopped short.

 

"Yixing," called Baekhyun, "What does this mean ?"

 

The interpreter drew closer to study the handwritten note stuck to a door.

 

"Let's see - 'Extra'.. I think this is 'paperclips' - some kind of office supply, anyway - 'Extra paperclips in the basement'.

 

"There's a basement ?!" Baekhyun fairly bounced up at this news.

 

"Probably behind this very door," answered Yixing with a smile.

 

"Off I go !" And without further a-do, he wrenched the door open and headed down into the dark space, headlight switched on.

 

"Shouldn't you go with someone ?" Called Minseok after him. "I thought we said no exploring on your own -"

 

"I'll go with him," interrupted Jongdae. "And you're right, he should absolutely know better. You guys scour this room and we'll be back up in no time," he waved them toward the many counters, ripe for examination.

 

He was right. The few small holes in the ceiling had done little to damage the room itself. There were probably many interesting things to find here. Perhaps they would even find a trace of the separated family. What had happened to them, Minseok wondered as he ambled between two counters, carefully scanning everything for hints of human life.

 

There were scribbled notes here and there, probably a boss's reminder of the day's objectives or some new regulation to be mindful of.

 

He was kneeling beside a cardboard box close to the basement door that was still cracked open, when a sudden chill ran up his spine and in spite of himself, he felt his hearing sharpen.

 

"Something's wrong -" he muttered, but before he could finish his thought, a sudden scream rose from the darkness. It was Jongdae's voice, crying for help.

 

 

 

**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, Minseok, what _could_ possibly go wrong in an abandoned radioactive city ?
> 
> EDIT : I'm sorry I've failed to respect my writing schedule this week. I had to put my cat down and I'm still reeling from that :'( 
> 
> I am working on the next chapter but it's slow. It will be up as soon as I'm able to finish it. Thank you for your patience.


	16. Chapter 16

**

 

 

The amusement park was eerily quiet. Of course, _all_ of Pripyat was eerily quiet, but there was something about the rusted Ferris wheel and the derelict bumper cars that made one's skin crawl with unease. Of all places, this was one where laughter should ring out and there ought to be shouts of merriment, and their absence left everything achingly empty.

Kyungsoo put it much more succinctly.

 

"This feels like the beginning of bad horror film," he mumbled as they neared the Ferris wheel.

 

Chanyeol was too busy examining the structure for a possible way up to answer, but Jongin nodded slowly.

 

"It does, doesn't it ? I don't even watch horror movies and I feel like we're about to fall under some curse or other."

 

"I was thinking zombies," Kyungsoo replied easily, and the way Jongin shivered at the thought made him smile softly. "I'm just teasing. These are nothing but old buildings. We'll be fine," he added, laying a gentle hand on the young man's shoulder.

 

To his surprise, Jongin twitched out of the touch and joined Chanyeol in his examination of the structure. It was rusted but each cabin had retained its original cheerful yellow to a rather impressive degree.

The tall explorer reached to shake one of the main metal beams.

 

"Seems solid enough. What do you think, Jongin ?"

 

In one fluid motion, Jongin leapt up and caught a beam, from which he hung for a few seconds before letting go.

 

"Very solid ! Not a single quiver."

 

He and Chanyeol let their backpacks down and started pulling out their climbing gear. In what seemed like seconds, they were both scaling the lower levels of the structure, looking for the fastest way to the top.

 

"Guys !" Called Sehun, causing them both to pause and turn to him, "Strike a pose will you ? I gotta get a shot of this."

 

Jongin threw out a peace sign while Chanyeol Slav-squatted on his beam, and they laughed at the combo.

 

"Excellent ! Carry on," Sehun returned, looking at the screen of his DSLR. Kyungsoo looked over and beheld a very nice shot of two idiots on a rusty Ferris wheel.

 

"You up for a short interview ?" Asked Sehun suddenly. Kyungsoo's eyebrows rose.

 

"I didn't realize you were making a movie."

 

"I'm not - not really. I just want to practice videography and I figured it'd be nice to have a few videos of this trip." He gestured around them, "This isn't just any old place."

 

"Okay sure," shrugged the historian. "Where'd you want me ?"

 

Sehun moved him about the field for a few minutes, trying to find the best angle, background and lighting. Occasionally a call would come from the Ferris wheel and they would turn to congratulate Chanyeol and Jongin on how high they had got. They were about three quarters there when Sehun finally approved the shot and set about recording his interview.

 

"Okay, can you state your name for the record ?"

 

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. "I'm Do Kyungsoo, I'm a historian on holiday. And if this is going on the record, I wanna add that I think this is a terrible idea." He pointed at the Ferris wheel.

 

Faint shouts of glee came from the two climbers, who had finally completed their ascent. Sehun swivelled slowly to get them into the frame, then swivelled back to Kyungsoo. He was grinning, a fact which he did his best to hide as soon as he noticed the camera on him.

 

"So what do you think of Pripyat so far ?"

 

"It's nice, actually. I didn't realize there'd be so many trees."

 

"Would you say you're enjoying your holiday ?"

 

Kyungsoo shrugged. "I mean, I've had more restful experiences, but yeah, I'd say I'm enjoying it. Kinda feels like a school trip."

 

"Are you worried about the radiation ?"

 

"If I were worried, I wouldn't have come with -"

 

But the historian was interrupted by the walkie-talkie blaring into existence from Chanyeol's backpack.

 

"Help !! Help !! Guys you have to come and help -"

 

Sehun lowered the camera. "What the hell ?"

 

Kyungsoo dashed to the backpack and extracted the device. "What's going on ?"

 

"That was Yixing's voice, wasn't it ?" Sehun was hot on his heels. From above, Chanyeol and Jongin were peering down at them curiously.

 

The walkie-talkie crackled back on. "Guys - the post office - oh my god.."

 

"What happened ? Yixing !! What happened ?" Kyungsoo yelled into the mouthpiece, but he received no answer. "We have to go."

 

Sehun straightened, eyes wide. "Do you think.."

 

"I have no idea, Sehun," he answered darkly before turning to the wheel and yelling up, "Something's happened ! We have to go to the post office ! You guys get down and follow us okay ?"

 

He waited only for Jongin's thumbs-up to turn and run in the direction they had seen A Team leave earlier.

 

 

**

 

 

The stairs were pitch black. A faint ribbon of light came from either Jongdae or Baekhyun's headlight, but it could not cut into the thick shadows of the basement. Minseok made for the yellow pinprick doggedly, taking one step at a time in spite of the urgency he felt. His own kit did not include a headlight, as he hadn't planned to investigate any basements, and he was rather regretting the decision. There was a strange, erratic rustling coming from the far end of the darkness, past the light. Every one of his senses screamed at him to get out of there, but the thought of Jongdae kept him going.

Something grabbed at his shoe as he neared the bottom and he fell back onto the stairs in surprise.

 

"Min.." came the faint whisper. The rustle at the far end grew more frantic.

 

"Jongdae ?" Minseok leaned down and grasped the hand. It felt sticky, but responded immediately, and the historian heaved mightily.

 

"Go !" Jongdae's voice was much closer and Minseok could feel his warmth against him. He threw an arm around him and turned back up the stairs. Jongdae could barely support himself. They made their way slowly up towards the pale faces of Yixing and Junmyeon, visible in the narrow doorway,

 

"Oh my god," she whispered as they emerged into the dimness of the post office. "Outside, get him outside !"

 

Yixing rushed to his aid and together, they hauled Jongdae through the half-open door they had crossed on their way in. It was only once out in the sunlight that they stopped and let him down, allowing Minseok to finally see the explorer's state.

 

He was covered in blood.

 

Minseok extracted the walkie-talkie from his pocket and handed it to Yixing. "Get the others over here now." Looking very queasy, the interpreter took the device with trembling hands and walked a few feet away, muttering something that sounded a lot like "ohmygodohmygod". Minseok turned back to Jongdae.

 

"I'm okay," he muttered, lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

 

"What the fuck are you talking about," shouted Junmyeon. "You are COVERED in blood you -"

 

"What happened ?" Asked Minseok quietly, somehow managing to cut through Junmyeon's rant as he dug into his backpack for his spare socks, with which he began to soak up the blood.

 

Jongdae's eyes fluttered open at the touch. "I'm not sure," he replied softly, his gaze trained on the historian carefully treating him.

 

"Where's Baekhyun ?"

 

"Still down there.. Something jumped at him. I didn't.. I didn't see what. There was growling.. It sounded weird."

 

The blood covering Jongdae's left side came from a strange jagged wound in his right arm. He winced when Minseok dabbed at it.

 

"It looks worse than it is," he gave a rueful smile.

 

Minseok returned the smile. "You idiot," he shook his head softly.

 

They were pulled out of the moment by a strange clacking sound, and they turned to find Junmyeon assembling an angled black stick. She already had one on the ground, a sort of heavy looking baton.

 

"I'm going down there," was the only reply she gave their surprised looks. It took only a second for Minseok to straighten.

 

"You have one of those for me ?"

 

She tossed him the one she had just finished and reached for the one on the ground.

 

"Flashlight ?" She asked, and Jongdae replied by pointing at his backpack.

 

"You stay here," Junmyeon directed at Yixing, who was crying silently. "Take care of Jongdae. Tell the others where to find us. And don't worry," she added in softer tone, stepping up to give him a light kiss on the cheek, "It'll be okay." The gesture seemed to surprise the tears out of him and he straightened, wiping his eyes.

 

With that, she turned to Minseok, who gave single nod. They turned and entered the post office, determined to rescue Baekhyun.

 

 

**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow yes hello again it has been a minute
> 
> but I am still here for stubborn-in-love XiuChen 
> 
> And for Yixing, the AU version of myself who indeed, starts crying the minute anything remotely traumatic occurs


End file.
